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LEADING FACTS OF HISTORY SERIES. 

By D. H. MONTGOMERY. 



THE LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY 

With numerous Illustrations, Maps, and Tables. Mailing Price, 

$1.10; Introduction Price, $1.00. 

THE LEADING FACTS OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

(Revised Edition.) With nunneious Maps and Tables. Mailing 
Price, $1.25; Introduction Price, $1.12. 

THE LEADING FACTS OF FRENCH HISTORY. 

With numerous Maps and Tables. Mailing Price, $1.25 ; Intro- 
duction Price, $1.12. 

BEGINNER'S AMERICAN HISTORY. 

With numerous Maps and Illustrations. Mailing Price, $.70; 
Introduction Price, $ .60. 



GINN & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS. 




'iS^r 




W^t Eeating jFacts of Jjistorg ScrifS. 



THE 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN 

HISTORY. 



BY 

D/h. MONTGOMERY. 



"America is another word for Opportunity." — Emerson. 



BOSTON, U.S.A. : 

GINN & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS. 

1894. 



En? 
, .1 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1890, by 

D. H. MONTGOMERY, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



All Rights Resbrved. 



Typography by J. S. Gushing & Co., Boston, U.S. A 
Presswork by Ginn & Co., Boston, U.S.A. 






Ai 









D. H. M. 

TO 

D. A. M. and 0. W. M. 



PREFATORY NOTE. 



lOi 



T^HIS work is based on a careful study of the highest recog- 
nized authorities on the subject. Its purpose is to present 
in a clear, connected, and forcible manner the important events 
in the history of our country. 

The author has had three chief objects in view, — accuracy of 
statement, simplicity of style, impartiality of treatment. 

In the preparation of this work his grateful acknowledgments 
are due to J. Franklin Jameson, Professor of History in Brown 
University, for his valuable assistance in the revision of the proof- 
sheets. The author also desires to express his thanks for the use 
of books and papers in the Library of Harvard University, the 
Library of Congress, the Library of the Massachusetts Historical 
Society, and especially for the aid courteously rendered by the 

Librarian and attendants of the Boston Athenaeum. 

DAVID H. MOxNTGOMERY, 

Cambridge, Mass. 



CONTENTS, 



SECTION PAGP 

1. The Discovery ana Naming of America, 1492 to 1521 i 

II. Attempts at Exploring and Colonizing America (the Country, the 
Natives, Effects of the Discovery of America on Europe), 1509 

to 1587 24 

III. Permanent English and French Settlements (the Thirteen Col- 

onies, French Exploration of the West, Wars with the Indians 

and with the French, Colonial Life), 1607 to 1763 49 

IV. The Revolution; the Constitution, 1763 to 1789 149 

V. The Union, — National Development (Presidents from Washing- 
ton to Buchanan, inclusive), 1 789 to 1861 191 

VI. The Civil War, 1861 to 1865 285 

VII. Reconstruction, — the New Nation, 1865 to the Present Time. . . 324 

APPENDIX.— 

1 . The Declaration of Independence (with an Introduction) i 

2. The Constitution (with an Introduction and Notes) vi 

3. Table of Admission of States xix 

4. Table of Presidents xxiii 

5. Principal Dates in American History xxiv 

6. List of Books on American History xxxii 

7. Questions for Examination. xxxvi 

8. Topical Analysis xlii 

9. Index Iv 

LIST OF FULL AND DOUBLE-PAGE MAPS. 

MAP 

I. The World as known before the Sailing of Columbus 7 

II. Frobisher's Map of America, 1576, , . , 33 

III. North and South America, showing Routes of Columbus, Cabot, 

Magellan, Drake, and Gosnold (double page) 35 

IV. Map showing the First Settlements made on the Eastern Coast of 

North America ...... o 51 

V. En^and ^nd Holland, — the Homes of the Pilgrims (double page) 76 



Xli CONTENTS. 

MAP PAGE 

VI. The Thirteen English Colonies and the French Explorations and 

Settlements in North America 126 

VII. The Revolution, New England States, including New York City 

and Vicinity (colored) » 154 

VIII. The Revolution, the Middle States (colored) 169 

IX. The Revolution, the Southern States (colored) 180 

X. Land Claims of the Thirteen States (colored) 182 ^ 

XI. The United States at the Peace of 1783 (colored) 184 v/ 

XII. The Northwest Territory, 1787 (colored) 187 

XIII. Louisiana Territory (colored) • 204 

XIV. The Civil War (colored) 292 

XV. Territorial Growth of the United States from 1 783 to the Present 

Time (colored) 331 ^ 

XVI. Relief Map of the United States 333 

XVII. General Map of the United States at the Present Time (colored) 356 



LIST OF FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS. 

I. Stuart's Washington Frontispiece 

11. Washington before the Revolution 134 

III. Benjamin Franklin 147 

IV. Battle of Bunker Hill (from an Old Print) 160 

V. Franklin's Letter to Strahan 162 

VI. Thomas Jefferson 165 

VII. Henry Clay 225 

VIII. John C. Calhoun 241 

IX. Daniel Webster 242 

X. Abraham Lincoln 279 

XL Grant's " Unconditional Surrender " Letter 297 

XII. General Lee 302 

XIII. Lincoln's Proclamation of Emancipation . 305 

XIV. View from Lookout Mountain 311 

XV. General Grant 313 

XVI. Admiral Farragut 317 

XVII. Lee's Letter to Grant 321 



THE 



Leading Facts of American History. 



OO^O^OO 

I. 

" He [the Most High] gave to thee [Columbus] the »keys of those gates 
of the Ocean . . . which were fast closed with such mighty chains." — 
Dream of Columbus, narrated in his Letter to the King and Queen of Spain^ 

1503- 

*o* 

THE DISCOVERY AND NAMING OF AMERICA. 

COLUMBUS. — CABOT. — AMERIGO VESPUCCLi 

I. Birth of Columbus; Ideas about the Earth; the *'Sea 
of Darkness.** — Christopher Columbus, the discoverer of Amer- 
ica, was born at Genoa, Italy, about the year 1436.^ 

At that time the earth was generally supposed to be flat, to be 
much smaller than it actually is, and to be habitable on its upper 
side alone. 

The only countries laid down on the rude and imperfect maps 
then in use were the continent of Europe,^ part of Asia, a narrow 
strip of Northern and Eastern Africa ; and, finally, a few islands, 
of which Iceland was the largest.* 

1 Amerigo Vespucci (or Americus Vespucius) : Italian pronunciation, Ah-ma- 
ree'go Ves-poot'chee. 

2 The exact year of his birth cannot be determined ; several excellent authori- 
ties favor 1436. 

3 See Map No. i, page 2. •* Except, of course, Great Britain. 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 




The Atlantic was popularly called the " Sea of Darkness." It 

was believed to be covered 
with thick, black fogs, and 
to be guarded by terrible 
monsters, which alike made 
it impassable. For these 
reasons, though the mari- 
ner's compass had long 
been known, yet navigators 
seldom dared to go out of 
sight of land, except to 
reach such islands as the 
Canaries and Azores, which 
some storm-driven sailor 
had originally discovered 
by chance. 

Europe, at this period, 
had no true ocean com- 
merce : its trade by sea was confined to the Mediterranean and 
the Atlantic coast. 

2. The Voyages and Discoveries of the Northmen. — To 

these statements one marked exception must be made. The 
Northmen, those daring sailors of Norway and Denmark, from 
whom our own English-speaking race has largely sprung,^ braved 
even the tempests and the terrors of the Atlantic, By accident 
they made a number of remarkable discoveries several centuries 
before Columbus. Though they had no compass, — no guide, in 
fact, but the sun and "the stars,^ — yet they were accustomed to 



The world as known in 1436. The faint, dotted outline 
of the coast of Africa shows the unexplored por- 
tion. The monsters represent the terrors of unknown 
regions. 



1 The Northmen invaded and permanently settled the northeastern half of Eng- 
land in the ninth century. In the next century they established themselves in North- 
western France, which district was called from them Normandy (the country of the 
Normans, or Northmen). In io66 the Normans crossed the Channel and conquered 
England. Hence many English, since the ninth century, and their descendants in 
America, must have sprung from the Northmen. 

2 Sometimes the Northmen, in their distant expeditions, took ravens with them ; 
when doubtful which way to steer for land they let the birds loose and followed their 
flight. 



THE DISCOVERY AND NAMING OF AMERICA. 3 

make long voyages in rudely built vessels not larger than fishing- 
smacks. 

About the year 850 a famous sea-rover of the Northmen was 
caught in a violent tempest and driven upon the coast of Iceland. 
Not long after, an expedition was sent and a settlement made in 
the new land. In the course of the next hundred years the North- 
men pushed their light barks farther and farther west, until at last 
they reached the bleak shores of Greenland. There, also, they 
established a colony. But even that distant and dreary outpost 
was not to be the utmost limit of their wanderings. The coast of 
North America had already been seen by these adventurous explor- 
ers. In the year 1000 Leif, the son of Eric the Red, reached 
that coast, and was henceforth called " Leif the Lucky." 

The place where he and his companions landed, and where they 
later spent one or more winters, cannot be exactly determined. 
According to their account they found wild grapes growing in such 
abundance that they named the region Vinland.^ This may have 
been, as many have supposed, a part of Massachusetts or Rhode 
Island, or it may have been as far north as Labrador. There are 
no ruins or other remains to mark their temporary settlement on 
the American coast, although in Greenland the walls of a stone 
church and of other buildings show where they had a colony. 

3. The Discovery of America by the Northmen had no 
Practical Result. — But however interesting it may be to us to 
know that the Northmen visited our shores as early as the year 
1000, still their discovery led to nothing. The reasons are readily 
found. First, they were then only partly civilized, and appear 

1 In the account of their return from Vinland to Greenland the records of the 
Northmen say : " And when spring came they got ready and sailed off; and Leif 
gave a name to the land after its sort, and called it Vinland (Vineland). They 
sailed then . . . until they saw Greenland . . . after that, Leif was called ' Leif the 
Lucky.' " 

It was thought at one time that the ancient round stone tower at Newport, com- 
monly called the " Old Stone Mill," was the work of the Northmen ; but that idea 
is now pretty generally abnndoned, and the old mill is believed to have been built 
by Governor Benedict Arnold of Rhode Island, in 1676-7. 



4 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

to have made no efforts to establish a permanent settlement here. 
Next, their colony in Greenland perished after a while, and a great 
change for the worse also took place in Iceland. In the time of 
Columbus the inhabitants of that island had probably little, if any, 
communication or trade with any part of the world except Bristol, 
England. The energy and enterprise for which these men of the 
north had once been famous had in great measure died out. They 
no longer engaged in daring adventures. 

There is a strong probability that Columbus went to Iceland in 
1477,^ but there is little likelihood that he got any information 
while there of a land farther west. Had he done so, he certainly 
would have mentioned the fact when he came to solicit help for 
his great voyage of discovery a number of years later. But though 
he urges every argument in favor of his enterprise, he says not a 
word of having had even a hint from the people of Iceland of such 
a country as Vinland. The truth seems to be that the dull and 
lazy descendants of " Leif the Lucky " and his brave comrades 
had lost all remembrance of any traditions or records of that 
far-off shore where their forefathers declared that they had feasted 
on American wild grapes. 

More than this, we have no evidence that the nations of Europe 
knew anything of such a country as Leif describes. It is there- 
fore quite safe to say that when Columbus sailed, in 1492, one 
half the world did not so much as suspect the existence of the 
other half. 

4. What Land Columbus wished to reach ; Marco Polo*s 
Travels ; First Motive of Columbus. — What, then, let us ask, 
first induced Columbus to undertake a voyage that no other man 
of that age dared embark upon ? It was not the expectation of 
finding a new or fourth continent ; for he probably believed as 



1 " In the year 1477, in February, I navigated one hundred leagues beyond 
Thule [Thule is generally thought to have been Iceland]. . . . The English, 
principally those of Bristol, go with their merchandise to this island, which is as 
large as England. When I was there, the sea was not frozen." — Letter of 
Columbus, 



THE DISCOVERY AND NAMING OF AMERICA. 5 

firmly as any one of his day that the three continents of Europe, 
Asia, and Africa, with some islands, comprised all the land in ex- 
istence. His object was not to reveal a new world beyond the 
western ocean, but simply to reach the Indies by saihng in that 
direction. 

The interest he felt was partly awakened by a noted book, 
published many years before, and partly it was the result of the 
condition of the India trade at the time when Columbus matured 
his enterprise. 

Let us see what that book was. In the thirteenth century ( 1 260- 
1295) Marco Polo, a fellow-countryman of Columbus, made an 
overland journey to Central Asia and the far East. He spent nearly 
thirty years there, and on his return wrote a volume of travels of 
great value. In that remarkable work he described India and 
China, and spoke of the island of Cipango or Japan, whose ex- 
istence he then first made known to Europe. Polo gave the best 
account of the countries he visited which had been published 
since Alexander the Great penetrated India (327 B.C.), and he 
spoke particularly of the wealth and power of the Great Khan, or 
Emperor of China, in whose service he had spent upwards of 
seventeen years.^ 

This book made a deep impression on the mind of Columbus, 
and later he constructed a map of the world, based in large meas- 
ure on the geographical discoveries made by Polo. He burned 
with a desire to visit those marvellous Eastern lands, with which 
all intercourse, except that of commerce, had long practically 
ceased. His purpose, as he himself repeatedly tells us, was, first 
of all, that of a missionary,^ — he hoped to convert the Khan and 

1 An eminent authority (M. Walckenaer) says, " When in the long series of ages 
we search for three men who, by th§ grandeur and influence of their discoveries, 
have contributed most to the progress of geography ... the modest name of the 
Venetian traveller [Marco Polo] presents itself in the same line with the names ot 
Alexander the Great and Christopher Columbus." 

2 In this respect Columbus may be compared with the celebrated modern mis- 
sionary and explorer, Dnvid Livingstone, who did so much, a number of years 
since, toward opening up the " Dark Continent " of Africa, not only to religion, but 
to trade. 






6 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

his people to Christianity. If they rejected the reUgion he offered 
them, then, according to the ideas of the time, any Christian king 
might aeize their possessions, and make slaves of them. 

Such was one great object with Columbus in going to the Indies, 
as all Eastern Asia was then called. Throughout his career he 
never lost sight of this purpose. In fact, he came at length to 
believe that the Most High had specially chosen him as his instru- 
ment to carry the light of faith into the kingdoms of Oriental 
paganism. That motive, whether wise or not, inspired the great 
Genoese navigator with a certain enthusiasm and dignity of char- 
acter which mark his course throughout. His life was not always 
blameless, — he shared many of the errors of his time, — but it 
was always noble. 

5. The Second Motive of Columbus ; Trade with the In- 
dies. — But the question naturally arises, if Columbus wished to 
reach the Indies, why did he not follow in the footsteps of his 
predecessor Polo, and go overland to that country? 

The answer to that inquiry is found in the second motive which 
actuated him ; that was his desire to open up direct commercial 
intercourse with the East, not by land, but by the ocean. Columbus 
was, as we have seen, a sailor ; and for this reason the condition 
of trade had a great influence on his plans. 

Europe had at all times depended on the Indies for much of its 
supply of silks, cashmeres, and muslins, as well as for dyewoods, 
perfumes, spices, precious stones, and pearls. How large that 
trade was in the fifteenth century we cannot say with precision, 
but it must have been considerable. The control of it was then 
practically in the hands of the two rival Italian ports of Venice 
and Genoa. They held such complete possession of this lucra- 
tive traffic that it was said that no one in Western Europe could 
season a dish of meat or spice a cup of wine, without adding 
something to the profits of one of those cities. 

Each had a route of its own. Genoa took the northern one, 
and sent her ships by way of Constantinople to the ports of the 



it 




THE WORLD AS KNOWN SHORTLY BEFORE THE SAILING OF COLUMBUS. 



Light arrows show voyages made up to 1492; (light track, D? Gama's voyage, 1497). 
Dark arrows, voyages of Columbus and Cabot. 

White crosses, countries of which something was known before 1492. 

White area, including western coast of Africa, the world as known shortly before the sail- 
ing of Columbus. 



THE DISCOVERY AND NAMING OF AMERICA. 7 

Black Sea. There they loaded with goods brought either across 
from the Caspian Sea or up the valley of the Euphrates and the 
Tigris from the Persian Gulf — part of the way by boats, and part 
by caravan. 

Venice took the southern route, and conducted her traffic by 
way of Cairo and the Red Sea. This gave her the advantage of 
a nearly all-water line of communication with the East, though 
there were points where the navigation was both difficult and dan- 
gerous. Trade over these two competing routes had gone on for 
centuries ; but in 1453, when Columbus was a lad of seventeen, 
a great change suddenly took place. 

That year the Turks besieged and took Constantinople, which 
before that had been a Greek city. When they got possession 
they refused to allow the Genoese vessels to pass through the 
straits of the Bosphorus into the Black Sea. This completely 
broke up the commerce of Genoa with the East, and henceforth 
Venice had the trade entirely to herself That result, so disastrous 
to Genoa, must have made a decided impression on Columbus ; 
for in future he would see no more ships unload their rich cargoes 
of silks and spices at the wharves of his native city. 

6. Attempt of the Portuguese to reach the Indies by a 
New Route. — While these events were happening on the Medi- 
terranean, the king of Portugal, anxious to get the control of the 
Oriental trade away from Venice, was doing his utmost to find an 
all-sea route to the treasures of the Indies. His plan was to send 
out successive expeditions to explore the western coast of Africa, 
in the hope of finding a way round that continent into the Indian 
Ocean. But the progress made was very slow. Though they had 
already done something, yet it took the cautious mariners of that 
age more than fifty years to creep down the coast — a distance of 
over five thousand miles — to the extreme southern point. Finally, 
in 1487, that feat was accomplished by a Portuguese captain of the 
name of Diaz.^ He, however, had such a rough experience that 
he named the point the Cape of Storms. 

1 Diaz (Dee'az). 



8 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

It is an interesting and significant fact that Bartholomew Colum- 
bus, Christopher's younger brother, accompanied Captain Diaz in 
that expedition. The elder Columbus must have felt no little in- 
terest in the success of the undertaking, since he himself was then 
maturing a scheme for seeking the Indies in a different direction. 

When Diaz returned with the news of what he had achieved, the 
Portuguese monarch felt sure that he should accomplish his end. 
To show his confidence in the new route which he foresaw would 
be opened, he called for Diaz's chart, drew his pen through the 
name Cape of Storms, and in its place wrote in bold letters that 
name full of promise. Cape of Good Hope. 

7. Plan of Columbus for reaching the Indies by sailing 
West. — But Columbus thought that he could improve on the 
king of Portugal's project. He felt certain that there was a 
shorter and better way of reaching the Indies than the track Diaz 
had marked out. The plan of the Genoese sailor was as daring 
as it was original. Instead of sailing east, or south and east, he 
proposed to sail directly west. He had, as he beheved, three good 
and solid reasons for such an undertaking : First, in common with 
the best geographers of his day, Columbus was convinced that the 
earth was not flat, as most men supposed, but a globe. Secondly, 
he supposed this globe to be much smaller than it is, and the 
greater part to be land instead of water. Thirdly, as he knew 
nothing, and surmised nothing, of the existence of the continent 
of America or of the Pacific Ocean, he imagined that the coast of 
Asia or the Indies was directly opposite Spain and the western 
coast of Europe. The entire distance across to Cipango, or Japan, 
he estimated not to exceed between three and four thousand 
miles. 

His plan was this : he would start from Europe ; head his ship 
westward toward Japan, and follow the curve of the globe until it 
brought him to what he sought. To his mind it seemed as sure 
and simple as for a fly to walk round an apple. 

If successful in the expedition, he would have this immense ad- 



THE DISCOVERY AND NAMING OF AMERICA. 9 

vantage : he would enter the Indies directly by the front door, 
instead of reaching them in a roundabout way, and by a sort of 
side-entrance as the Portuguese must. 

We see that this man who understood practical mathematics, 
geography, and navigation, as well or better than any one of his 
day, was right on the first point, — the shape of the earth, — but 
utterly wrong on the other two. 

Yet, singularly enough, his errors were in one respect a help to 
him. The mistake that he made in regard to distance was a most 
fortunate one. Had Columbus correctly reckoned the size of the 
globe, and the true length of such a voyage, he probably would 
not have sailed, since he would have seen at once that the pro- 
posed Portuguese route was both far shorter and cheaper. Again, 
could he have imagined or in any way foreseen that the American 
continent lay right across his path, that in itself might not then 
have induced him to start on a voyage of discovery, for his object 
was not to find a new country, but a new way to an old one. 

8. Columbus seeks and obtains the Assistance of Spain. 

— This project was not a recent thought of Columbus. He had 
meditated on it for many years, during which time he had sought 
to get the help first of his native city, then of Portugal, and finally 
of Spain. He had met with nothing but disappointment. He 
was regarded as a foolish schemer, and the street boys openly 
mocked him as a lunatic. 

At last Columbus, now fast sinking into poverty, received per- 
mission from the Spanish rulers to lay his plans before a committee 
or council. That body listened to his arguments with impatient 
increduhty. To them such a voyage " appeared as extravagant 
as it would at the present day to launch a balloon into space in 
quest of some distant star." 

The council ridiculed the idea that the earth is round like a 
ball. If so, said they, then the rain and snow must fall upward on 
the under side, — the side opposite where we stand, — and men 
there must walk with their heads downward : that would be incon- 



lO LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

venient, nay more, it would be impossible. Finally, they objected 
that in case the earth could be proved to be a globe, that very fact 
would render such a voyage as Columbus proposed a failure. For 
how, they asked of him, could your ships come back when they 
had once advanced so far west as to begin to descend the curve 
of the earth? Could they turn about and aail up hill to Spain 
again? No answer that Columbus could make seemed satisfac- 
tory to the council. After much deliberation and vexatious delays 
they made their report to Ferdinand and Isabella, joint sovereigns 
of Spain. The report stated that the scheme was " vain and im- 
practicable, and rested on grounds too weak to merit the support 
of the government." 

Sick at heart, Columbus set out to leave the country, when he 
was recalled. He had a few stanch friends at court who believed, 
with him, that "wherever ships could sail, man might venture." 
Through their influence, and especially through the generous en- 
couragement of Queen Isabella, he obtained the assistance he 
required.^ Thus, chiefly by a woman's help, the brave saflor got 
the power to undertake his daring enterprise. It was indeed high 
time that some one should furnish the means if Columbus was to 
be the leader; for he was then a gray-bearded man of fifty-six — 
an age when not many persons, however fond of adventure, care 
to embark on new and perilous expeditions. 

9. Columbus sails. — Columbus had succeeded in getting his 
own terms, — he had received the rank of admiral, he was to be 
governor of all lands that he might discover or acquire, and he 
was to have a tenth of whatever treasure he might find. He now 
pushed forward his preparations for the voyage as rapidly as possi- 
ble. When all was ready, he and his men went to church, and 
implored the blessing of God on their great enterprise. The next 
day, Friday, August 3, 1492, "half an hour before sunrise," as 

2 The whole amount raised to fit out the expedition was 1,640,000 maravedis, or 
(according to HarrisSe's estimate) about ^93,000, of which sum the Queen contributed 
over two thirds. 



tHE DISCOVERY AND NAMING OF AMERICA. 11 

Columbus himself says, he set sail from Palos, Spain, with three 
small vessels, and one hundred and twenty men.^ 

Of these vessels, only the largest, the admiral's ship, had an 
entire deck, and even his was probably of not over one hundred 
tons' burden, or about the size of an ordinary coasting schooner. 

He took his route by way of the Canary Islands, because 
Cipango, or Japan, the nearest Asiatic land, was supposed to lie 
in that latitude.^ At the Canaries he was detained several weeks 
repairing the rudder of one vessel, and altering the sails of a 
second. 

On September 6th, he hoisted anchor, and resolutely set out to 
cross that ocean which no civilized man had ever before attempted 
to pass over. As the last dim outline of the islands faded from their 
sight many of the sailors were completely overcome. Some shed 
tears, as if they " had taken leave of the world " ; others, unable 
to restrain their grief, broke out into loud and bitter lamentations. 

But Columbus himself had no such fears. He did not feel that 
he was making a leap in the dark. He had carefully calculated 
everything and provided for everything. No one understood 
navigation better than he. Here was his equipment : First, he 
had a chart of the globe, made by himself, and based on the 
highest authorities. Next, he had the compass for his guide. 
Finally, he carried with him an improved astrolabe, or instrument 
for determining his position by observation of the sun. 

But these were not all. These, in fact, were but the material 

1 Columbus kept a regular journal of the voyage from the start. In the intro- 
duction to that journal he says, respecting one object he had in view: " In conse- 
quence of the information which I had given to your Highnesses [the king and 
queen of Spain] of the lands of India, and of a prince who is called the Grand 
Khan, which is to say . . . King of Kings . . . therefore your Highnesses . . . deter- 
mined to send me, Christopher Columbus, to the said parts of India to see the said 
prince and the people and lands . . . and to discover the means to be taken for the 
conversion of them to our holy faith ; and ordered that I should not go by land to 
the East, by which it is the custom to go, but by a voyage to the west, by which 
course, unto the present time, we do not know for certain that any one hath passed." 

2 See chart of Columbus, page 12, and compare also the chart of his course, 
page 13. 



12 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



and mechanical means of success. He had the conviction that 
he was engaged in a Providential work, and that he was certain to 
accomphsh it. There are occasions in life when such a faith is 
worth everything to its possessor : this was one. 




Atlantic 
Ocean 



Tropic o/Ciwcerr 




Charf representing fhat 
by whtch Co/umbu53Qi/ed 



170 



10 




■&<? A.'-^ 



Correct chart of westward route from Europe to Asia, for comparison with the chart 

of Columbus given above. 

We can judge of the strength of his conviction from the fact 
that he carried with him, by his own special request, letters of 
introduction and recommendation from the joint sovereigns of 
Spain to the Grand Khan of China. 

10. The Voyage ; Variation of the Needle ; the Crew 
are greatly Alarmed ; the Winged Guides. — For a time all 
went well, then a new and strange circumstance was noticed. It 
was found that the compass no longer pointed toward the North 



THE DISCOVERY AND NAMING OF AMERICA. 



13 



Star, but that it varied more and more, as they went on, to the 
west of north.^ 

This astonished Columbus, and greatly alarmed the seamen. 
They began to think that they had now entered a region where 
the ordinary laws of nature were suspended, and that to persist in 
keeping on would be destruction. Columbus pacified their fears 
as best he could. He however would not hear of turning back 
then, though he afterward promised to do so if land was not dis- 
covered in a few days. 

On the 7th of October an event occurred which induced the 
admiral to change his course. He was then sailing due west, but 
that day a flock of land-birds was seen flying to the southwest. 
Alonzo Pinzon, captain of one of the vessels, urged Columbus to 
follow those birds. He refused ; but at length yielded to entreaty, 
and reluctantly turned the prow of his ship in the direction of 
those winged guides.^ 



Columbus sailed Aug. 3d, ii-^^ 

Tueft Canary Islands^rr / 
Sept.Gth 







— • — . .- 




Route of Columbus, 1492. 



That seemingly trifling^circumstance had important results. 
Had Columbus kept on in his direct westerly course, he would 
have struck the mainland of America at the peninsula of Florida. 
In that case it is probable that Spain would have planted her first 



1 Humboldt remarks that it had probably been noticed before this voyage that 
the magnetic needle varied to the northeast. Now it was found that this variation 
varied ; and that from northeast the needle swung round to the northwest. This 
was the new and startling feature of the situation. 

* See Paragraph 2, note 2, on the Northmen following ravens. 



14 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORV. 



colonies on what is now the eastern shore of the United States, 
instead of spending her strength, as she did, in getting posses- 
sion of Cuba and San Domingo. Such a settlement might have 
changed — at least, for a long period — the future of this coun- 
try. It might have made a second Mexico of the southeast, — 
planting there a Spanish population, Spanish laws, and the Span- 
ish language. Had that happened, — and there is no reason to 
think it would not, — then despotic Spain would have got firm 
control of a part of the new world that to-day belongs to the 

American Union, and such a 
hold, even if but temporary, 
certainly would not have re- 
sulted in our present advan- 
tage. 



iio Land! San Salvador; 
the West Indies and the In- 
dians. — The result of follow- 
ing the birds was that, five days 
later, Friday, October 12th, at 
two o'clock in the morning, 
the cry of " Land ! Land ! " 
was heard. It proved to be 
a small island of the Bahamas, 
called by the natives Guana- 
hani. It is now thought to be 
Watling's Island.^ 

When the sun rose, reveal- 
ing the low sandy shore, — the 
humble threshold of the new world, — Columbus, clad in complete 
armor, landed with his men. Kneeling, they kissed the soil, and 
with tears gave thanks to God for having crowned their voyage 

1 Cat Island, Turk's Island, and Watling's Island, all in the Bahama group, are 
rivals, each claiming the honor of the first landing of Columbus. The weight of 
evidence seems now to favor the last. 



^ 




Columbus watching for land. 



THE DISCOVERY AND NAMING OF AMERICA. 1$ 

with success. Then, with solemn ceremonies, the admiral planted 
the royal flame-colored banner of Spain, and took possession of 
the country for Ferdinand and Isabella. To the island he gave 
the name of San Salvador, or the Holy Redeemer. 

Columbus believed this little island to be part of the Indies. 
Since he had reached it by sailing westward he called the group to 
which it belongs the West Indies. To the natives he naturally 
gave the name Indians. However unreasonable that designation 
may seem to us now, knowing, as we do, that the Indies are many 
thousand miles west of the Bahamas, still that name will doubtless 
cling to that people as long as they continue to exist. 

Columbus never found out his mistake in regard to this country. 
He made three more voyages ^ hither ; but he died firmly con- 
vinced that America was part of Asia, and that he had discovered 
a short and direct all-sea westward route from Europe to the 
Indies. 

We see an illustration of the strength of that conviction in an 
incident which happened when he landed at Cuba.^ He at first 
thought it must be Japan ; but later he came to the conclusion 
that it was part of the Asiatic mainland, and he compelled his men 
to swear that they believed that, if they chose, they could go 
thence, all the way by -land, back to Spain. 

It should be distinctly understood that Columbus never, in 
any of his voyages to America, set foot on any part of the coast 
of what is now the United States. 

12. Columbus returns to Spain; his Reception; the 
Pope^s Division of the World. — Having lost his own vessel — 

1 On his first voyage (1492) Columbus discovered the Bahamas and the West 
India Islands, including Cuba and San Domingo or Hayti, On his second voyage 
(autumn of 1493), he discovered the islands of the Caribbean Sea, besides Jamaica 
and Porto Rico. On his third voyage (spring of 1498), he discovered the Island 
of Trinidad, off the coast of Venezuela, South America^; and on the first of August, 
the mainland of that continent, at the mouth of the Orinoco River. On his fourth 
and final voyage (spring of 1502), he explored the coast of Central America and 
of the Isthmus of Panama. He returned to Spain in 1504, where he died in 1506. 

2 Cuba was not discovered to be an island until two years after the death of 
Columbus. 



l6 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

the best one in the fleet — by shipwreck, the admiral built a fort 
with her timbers, on the island of Hispaniola,^ or Hayti. He left 
a small colony there, and sailed for Spain, reaching that country 
in the spring of 1493, after an absence of a little over seven 
months. 

The reception given him by Ferdinand and Isabella was such as 
the first civilized man who had crossed the Atlantic merited. 
Those who a year before had laughed at him as crazy, now, cap in 
hand, bowed low before him. Yet the only printed account^ 
which appeared describing his wonderful voyage was a copy of 
a letter which he had written to the king and queen. It was 
entitled : — 



«^ 



H letter of Cbriatopber ©olumbua, 

(to whom our Age is much indebted) 
respecting the 

Islands of India, beyond the Ganges, 
lately discovered."^ 

A rhymed version of this letter was sung through the streets of 
Genoa. It must have created a stir in that declining city, which, 
forty years before, when Columbus was a boy, had boasted its 
trade with the East.'* 

One immediate result of this supposed discovery of a western 
route to the Indies was the division of the world by the Pope 
Spain and Portugal were rivals. Both were eager to get the con- 
trol of Oriental commerce. The Pope had confirmed Portugal 
in the possession of the islands and countries of Africa she had 

1 Hispaniola, or Little Spain. 

2 This was in 1493, about forty years after the invention of printing. 

3 This letter may be found complete in Major's "Select Letters of Columbus" 
(Hakluyt Society's PubUcations, London). Extracts from it are given in Higgin- 
son's " American Explorers." In this letter Columbus gives an account of the 
voyage and describes the West India Islands and their inhabitants. . 

4 See Paragraph 5. 



THE DISCOVERY AND NAMING OF AMERICA. 



17 



NOKTti 




discovered. Spain now asked him to confirm her claims to coun- 
tries in the west. The Pope, anxious to keep peace between the 
two nations, granted the petition. Taking a map of the world 
(1493), he drew a perpendicular line from the north to the south 
pole, one hundred leagues west of the Azores. Later, the line 
was fixed at three hundred and seventy leagues west of the Cape 
Verd Islands.-^ Portugal was to have all lands, not belonging to 
some Christian prince, found east 
of this line ; Spain all similar lands 
west of it. 

13. Disappointment of Spain 
with the newly found <* Indies " ; 
Death of Columbus. — Meantime 
Spain was picturing to herself the 
unbounded wealth she would gain 
through future voyages of Columbus. 
But he failed to find any mines of 
precious metal, and sore was the dis- 
appointment. It was said that his men brought back no gold, but 
only a mockery of it in their yellow, emaciated faces, discolored 
by disease. The wealth they found consisted of some hundreds of 
wretched Indians, kidnapped to be sold as slaves in Europe. 

Loud was then the outcry against Columbus. The rabble nick- 
named him the " Admiral of Mosquito Land." They pointed at 
him as the man who had promised everything, and ended by dis- 
covering nothing but "a wilderness peopled with naked savages." 

Broken in health, broken in heart, the great sailor died in Spain, 
in neglect and poverty.^ Three years before his death he wrote a 

1 The reason for drawing the first line one hundred leagues west of the Azores 
appears to have been because at that point the compass pointed exactly north. 
Portugal, however, strenuously objected, and got the line pushed farther west. By 
the final arrangement Portugal obtained Brazil when it was discovered. 

2 Columbus died at Valladolid, in 1506. He was buried there, but later his body 
was removed to Seville. In 1536 it was transported to the island of San Domingo. 
After the cession of that island to France by the Spanish the remains of Colum- 
bus were exhumed (oj was then supposed) , carried to Havana, Cuba, and there 



Map showing the Pope's division of the 
world. 



l8 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



«» 



touching letter ^ to the king and queen, asking for help, but none 
was given. Probably, if Queen Isabella had not soon after died, 
he would have received the assistance he so humbly begged. 
When she passed away, the admiral lost his best friend. But 
though his closing days were pitiful, yet none the less the voice 
that he imagined he once heard in a dream spoke truly.^ He had 
not found the Indies ; but, as the voice seemed to say, he had un- 
locked "those gates of* the ocean" which until then had been 
" fast shut with chains," — the chains of ignorance and fear. 

14. John Cabot discovers the Continent of North America. 

— But great as was the merit of Columbus, he was not destined 
to be the first to look on the mainland of America, nor was he to 
give it the name it bears. The discovery of the continent was 
reserved for a fellow-countryman, John Cabot,^ of Venice, then 
residing in Bristol, England. Influenced by what Columbus had 
achieved, and encouraged by Henry VIL, king of England, Cabot 
set sail westward in the spring of 1497. His object was to find a 
northern passage to the Indies and China, in order that he might 
secure the spice trade to the English sovereign. He failed to 
discover what he sought ; but he did better, for he saw what no 
civilized man had yet beheld, that was — the continent. The point 
where he made the discovery was probably in the vicinity of Cape 
Breton Island, at the entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.^ On a 
map drawn by his son Sebastian we read the following inscription : — 

deposited in the cathedral. Now, however, there seems good reason for believing 
that there was some mistake about this, and that the true remains of Columbus still 
rest in San Domingo. 

1 " I was twenty-eight years old [these figures are believed to be a mistake] . . . 
when I came into your Highnesses' service, and now I have not a hair upon my 
head that is not gray : my body is infirm, and all that was left to me has been 
taken away and sold. . . . Hitherto I have wept over others ; may Heaven now 
have mercy upon me, and may the earth weep for me ! " — Letter ofColunibus, 1503. 

2 See quotation from the letter of Columbus at the beginning of this section, 
page I. It was while he lay sick and in great trouble, on the Isthmus of Panama, 
that he fancied he heard the consoling voice. ^ Cabot (Cab'ot). 

4 It is impossible to determine positively where John Cabot first saw land. 
Different authorities suppose Labrador, Newfoundland, and Cape Breton Island ; 
the last is now strongly supported by special investigators. 



THE DISCOVERY AND NAMING OF AMERICA. I9 

"/;? the year of our Lord 14^7, J^ohn Cabot, a Venetian, and 
his son Sebastian discovered that country which no one before his 
time had ventwed to approach, on the 24th of June, about five 
o'clock ill the morning.^' ^ 

Cabot planted the English flag on the coast, and took formal 
possession of the country for the English king. 

The next year Sebastian Cabot made a voyage,^ and explored the 
coast from Nova Scotia to Cape Hatteras, or perhaps even farther 
south. He likewise asserted the title of Henry VH. to the land. 

That king was notoriously fond of money, and knew how to 
hold on to it ; but in this particular case he tried to be generous. 
Such services as those of the Cabots could not go wholly unre- 
warded. He appears to have given the father a small pension. 
Furthermore, in the royal note-book of that monarch's private 
expenses we find this significant memorandum, which is supposed 
to refer to the first expedition : — 

" lOth August, I4gy. To him that found the new isle, £10.'" ^ 

Never, perhaps, in the world's history did any sovereign get so 
large a territory for so small an outlay ; for on that voyage of 
Cabot's the English based their claim to this country. Nearly 
three hundred years later, Edmund Burke, the eminent British 
statesman, said in Parliament : " We derive our right in America 
from the discovery of [John] Cabot,* who first made ^ the northern 
continent in 1497." 

Thus the country was found. Let us see, next, how it was 
named. 

1 Another map, since discovered in Germany, and now preserved in Paris, bears 
date 1494. Whether this is a mistake for 1497 is matter of discussion. If the date 
is correct, then Cabot sailed three years earlier than has generally been supposed. 

2 The voyage of Columbus in 1492 "was much talked of," says Cabot, "at the 
court of Henry VII." He adds, " Then increased in my heart a secret flame of 
desire to attempt some notable thing." 

3 Ten pounds sterling represented, of course, much more than ^50 then. Per- 
haps, indeed, it would be safe to call it as much as ^700 or ^800. Still, even at 
that rate, the king got his money's worth. Pension : money paid yearly. 

4 Burke says Sebastian Cabot by mistake for John Cabot. 

6 " Made," here used in the sense of came in sight of, or reached. 



20 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



^^ 15. How the Name America originated. — Two years after 
John Cabot's voyage (1499) another ItaUan, Amerigo Vespucci/ 
a native of Florence, but then engaged in business in Spain, went 
out in partial command of an expedition of exploration. Follow- 
ing directly in the track of Columbus, and using his charts, he 
reached the northeastern part of the South American coast, some- 
where in what is now Dutch Guiana. In the course of the next 
four years he made two more voyages in which he visited Brazil.^ 
On his return to Europe he wrote a pretty full account of what he 
had seen, which was published soon after (1504). Though it 
was nothing but a thin pamphlet, yet, from the fact that it was, 
so far as we know, the first printed description of the mainland 
of the Western Hemisphere, it naturally brought the name of the 
writer into notice. 

At this time there was a German professor of geography named 
Waldseemiiller,^ connected with the college of St. Di^,'* a village 
now included in Eastern France. He had read Vespucci's accounts 

of his voyages and was 
particularly interested 
in them.^ 

In the year 1507 he 
printed a little book in 
Latin on the college 
press and entitled it 
"An Introduction to 

Map showing the village of St. Die, Eastern France. 

Geography. It con- 
sisted of only a few pages, and might easily be rolled up and carried 

. . « 

1 Amerigo Vespucci (Ah-ma-ree'go Ves-poot'chee) : the name also frequently 
occurs in a Latinized form as Amer'icus Vespu'cius. 

2 Brazil had been discovered by Pinzon, one of the companions ot Columbus, 
in 1499, two years before Vespucci visited that country; and Columbus had reached 
the northeastern coast of South America in his third voyage, 1498. 

3 Waldseemiiller : German pronunciation nearly Valt'za-miller. 

4 St. Die (San De-ay'). 
6 Vespucci's voyages : according to what purports to be his own account, 

Amerigo Vespucci made his first voyage in the spring of 1497, and saw on June 6th 



!v^ _ A *^^ „ ,<T^l*. 


^^^r^ \ 




j^sy-?i^^^^x rv r 


■^s* 


■xSX^ ry 



THE DISCOVERY AND NAMING OF AMERICA. 21 

in one's pocket. Small as it was, there was, however, a sentence 
in it which was to have a lasting influence on the history of this 
country. That sentence was this suggestion made by Waldsee- 
miiller : " And the fourth part of the world having been discovered by 
Amerigo or Ajnericus, we may call it Amerige, i^r AMERICA." 

Thus one-half the globe received the name it bears. One Italian 
had found the outposts of the new world, and claimed them for 
Spain ; a second had seen the northern mainland, and taken pos- 
session of it for England ; finally, a third, coming after both the 
others, gave to it, perhaps without his own knowledge even, the 
title it now possesses in every atlas and history. 

No man that ever lived before or since has such a monument as 
Amerigo Vespucci ; for a name derived from his is written across 
the map of two entire continents. If he deserved it, it is right he 
should have the honor ; but most historians think he did not deserve 
it ; that, in fact, he' was no true discoverer, but only followed after 
those who were. In that case he has received by chance fame 
which he not only did not fairly earn, but which it may be he did 
not either seek or desire. 

i6. How America finally came to be considered a New 
and Distinct Continent. — But even after America was named 
the idea that it was a distinct and separate division of the globe 
was not generally accepted. Some, indeed, thought that South 
America was a great island or southern continent (like Australia) j 
but the majority believed with Columbus that it was simply an 
immense peninsula projecting from Southeastern Asia. People, 

of that year " a coast which," he says, " we thought to be that of a continent." If that 
coast was the continent, he discovered the mainland of America eighteen days before 
John Cabot did (June 24, 1497) ; and more than a year before Columbus saw it, on 
his third voyage (Aug. i, 1498). In 1499 Vespucci, following in the track of Colum- 
bus, visited the northeastern coast of South America, part of which had been seen 
and described by the great navigator the previous year. Later, Vespucci visited 
Brazil. All recent authorities on American history — namely, Winsor (" Narrative 
and Critical History of America "), Bancroft (revised edition, 1883), and Bryant — 
believe that Vespucci did not make his first voyage until 1499, and that, therefore, 
John Cabot was the true discoverer of the continent of America. 



22 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



indeed, spoke of the " New World," but all that they usually meant 
by that expression was newly discovered lands. 

The real character of America was first found out by Magellan/ 
when, sailing to the southwest (1519-1521), through the straits 
since known by his name, he passed round South America into 
that great ocean which he called the Pacific. Coasting up north 





'^'^^!^/^///jpan/o/a 







Map of 1515, showing what some geographers then supposed North America to be. This is one of 
the earliest maps on which the name America occurs. It will be noticed that at that time it 
was confined to South America. 

for some distance, he ended by going across the newly discovered 
ocean of the west, and one ship of his expedition sailed entirely 
round the globe.^ Then men's eyes were opened to the truth. 
Then they saw that America, instead of being a part of the old 



1 Magellan (Ma-gel'lan). 

2 Magellan himself was killed on an island of the East Indies ; but one of his 
captains succeeded in completing the voyage. He received a coat-of-arms firom the 
king of Spain, on which a globe was represented with the motto : " You first sailed 
round me" 



THE DISCOVERY AND NAMING OF AMERICA. 23 

world, was in all probability an immense, independent continent, 
a real new world. 

Was that discovery hailed with delight? Not at all. Europe 
was still bent on finding " that hidden secret of nature," a direct 
passage to Asia, and there stood America barring all progress. It 
is true that when the Spaniards found gold and silver in Mexico 
and Peru, they became reconciled in a measure to their disappoint- 
ment. Still, for more than a hundred years after Columbus, most 
of the explorers spent their efforts not so much in seeking to find 
out what was in the new country, as in trying to hit on some pas- 
sage through it or round it which should be shorter and better than 
that which Magellan had sailed through. 

17. Summary. — In 1492 Columbus, while attempting to open 
up a direct western all-sea route to Asia, accidentally discovered 
the West India Islands. He had no true idea of the magnitude of 
his discovery ; but supposed that land, and all that which he 
afterward saw, to be part of Asia. His great merit is that he, first 
of civilized men, dared to cross the unknown sea of the Atlantic. 
The glory of that bold exploit will always be his. 

John Cabot, a Venetian, discovered the American continent in 
1497. 

The voyages of Amerigo Vespucci, also a countryman of Colum- 
bus, suggested the name America. Last of all, Magellan's expe- 
dition round the world in 15 19-15 21 proved the earth to be a 
globe, and showed that America was in all probability a distinct 
continent, and not a part of Asia.^ 

1 The authorities for this and all following sections will be found in the List of 
Books at the end of this work. 



24 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



II. 

The discovery of America was " the great event which gave a new world 
not only to Spain, but to civilized man." — Charles Sumner. 



-•o^ 



ATTEMPTS AT EXPLORING AND COLONIZING 

AMERICA. 

THE COUNTRY. — THE NATIVES. — EFFECTS OF THE DISCOVERY OF 

AMERICA ON EUROPE. 

i8. Ponce de Leon's ^ Expedition ; Discovery of Florida. 
— In 1509 Diego ^ Columbus, son of Christopher Cokimbus, was 
appointed governor of San Domingo. Not long afterward he 
despatched a force to Cuba which conquered that island. 

In the spring of 1 5 1 3 Ponce de Leon, who had been removed 
by the king of Spain from the governorship of the island of 
Porto Rico, determined to start on an exploring expedition to the 
northward. De Leon was getting to be old, but the conquest 
of Cuba had stirred his blood, and he resolved to accomplish 
something of equal note. He had heard marvellous stories from 
the Indians of a land not very far distant which was said to pos- 
sess two things he coveted, — gold, and a fountain which could 
make the old young again. De Leon readily obtained a royal 
charter^ from Spain, which gave him power to go in search of that 
land of promise, and when found, to hold it as governor for Hfe. 
The last privilege meant much in the eyes of the veteran adven- 

1 Ponce de Leon (Pon'tha da La-on', Spanish pronunciation). 

2 Diego (De-a'go, Spanish pronunciation) . 

3 Charter ' a written grant made by the king or head of a government, confer- 
ring certain rights and privileges. 



DISCOVERY OF FLORIDA. 2$ 

turer ; for if he could once bathe in the waters of the miraculous 
fountain, and get back his youth, he felt sure of a long term of 
office. With this tempting prospect of renewed energies and of a 
governorship lasting for many years, De Leon set sail. 

After cruising about among the Bahama Islands for several 
weeks he discovered the mainland of North America. It was 
Easter Sunday,^ a day which the Spaniards call Pascua ^ Florida, 
or Flowery Easter. Shortly after, De Leon landed at a point 
between where St. Augustine now stands and the St. John's River.^ 
There he planted the cross, raised the Spanish flag, and in com- 
memoration of the day when he had first seen the coast, he 
named the country Florida.'* Winter is almost unknown in that 
climate, and the dense foliage and profusion of bright flowers 
fully justified the name. 

But De Leon found no gold. Worse still, he found no magical 
fountain that could make a man approaching threescore a man 
of twenty. Disappointed in what he most cared for, he set sail for 
Porto Rico. A number of years later he went back prepared to 
colonize the land he had discovered. He did not succeed ; for an 
arrow shot by an Indian inflicted a wound which ended his days. 
Thus the old man found death lurking for him in that I^and of 
Flowers, where he had hoped to get for himself a new lease 
of Hfe. 

19. Balboa discovers a Southern Ocean. — In the autumn 
of the year when De Leon first saw Florida (15 13), Balboa,^ 
a fellow-countryman, undertook an exploring expedition on the 
Isthmus of Panama.® His object was to find a great body of water 



1 Easter Sunday, and not Palm Sunday, as is sometimes stated. 

2 Pascua (Pas'koo-ah) : meaning Easter. 

3 See Map, page 51. 

4 The name was not restricted to the peninsula now so called, but extended 
over a vast region beyond. 

6 Vasco Nunez de Balboa, commonly called Balboa (Bal-bo'ah). 

6 See Map, page 35. Balboa crossed the isthmus (then called the Isthmus of 
Darien), about 150 miles southeast of Aspinwall, from a point opposite the Bay of 
San Miguel to that bay (Lat 8° 50'). 



26 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

which the natives told him could be seen toward the south from 
the top of the mountains. The way to the mountains was through 
a country so rough and so covered with dense forest filled with 
underbrush that the Spaniards did well when they made seven or 
eight miles a day. At last, after terrible hardships, Balboa reached 
the summit of the ridge. Looking down, he beheld that mag- 
nificent expanse of water which Magellan, seven years' later, sailed 
across on his way round the world.^ Such a sight was worth all 
it cost. 

A number of days afterwards, Balboa, struggling over rocks, 
wading streams, and cutting his way through tangled vines, suc- 
ceeded in getting to the shore. 

Drawing his sword with one hand, and bearing a banner in the 
other, he marched out knee-deep into the smooth sea, and took 
possession of it and of all lands bordering on it for the sovereigns 
of Spain. Waving his sword, he said, '' I am ready to defend " 
their claim " as long as the world endures, and until the final day 
of judgment of all mankind." He named the ocean the South 
Sea.'^ 

Six years later the Spanish general, Cortez,^ landed in Mexico, 
conquered that country, and thus established the power of Spain 
on the Pacific slope of the North American continent. 

20. French Explorations ; Montreal. — Up to this time 
France had obtained no part of the new world. But the king of 
that country did not intend to let the other powers of Europe get 
it all. The Pope had, as we have seen,^ granted the new lands to 
rival nations ; but that did not deter Francis I., who then ruled 
France. " Show me," said he to the sovereigns of those nations, 
" that clause in the will of ' Father Adam ' which divides the earth 
between the Spanish and the Portuguese, and excludes the French." 
" Father Adam's " will was not produced ; the consequence was 



1 See Paragraph 1 6. * Because he first saw it to the south of him. 

8 Cortez (Cor'tez). ^ See Paragraph 12. 



ATTEMPTED CONQUEST OF FLORIDA. 2^ 



that the king — so the French say — sent out an expedition ^ to 
obtain his share of America. 

But we cannot be sure that France accomphshed anything in 
this way before 1535. That year Cartier,^ a French navigator, 
discovered a great river in the northern part of America, to which 
he gave the name of St. Lawrence. Ascending the stream, he 
came to an island where there was a Httle Indian village. Land- 
ing, he climbed the lofty hill behind it. He was so delighted 
with the grand view that he called the height Montreal, or Royal 
Mountain. 

21. New Attempts of the Spaniards to Conquer Florida; 
Coronado. — Meanwhile the Spaniards, under Narvaez, made an- 
other attempt (1528) on Florida. The undertaking failed. The 
disheartened explorers built some boats and crept along the 
shore of the Gulf of Mexico, toward the west. After cruising in 
this way for more than five weeks, Cabeza De Vaca,^ an officer of 
the expedition, discovered one of the mouths of the Mississippi. 
Narvaez,* the commander of the little fleet, soon after parted com- 
pany with Cabeza, and was lost. About a week later, Cabeza 
himself was shipwrecked, probably on the coast of Texas. He 
was captured by the Indians. After a long captivity, he and three 
of his companions managed to escape. They plunged into the 
wilderness, and at length, after nearly two years of wandering, 
reached a Spanish settlement on the western coast of Mexico.^ 

They were the first white men that had ever crossed so large a 
portion of the continent. They had only journeyed from the 

1 This was the expedition said to have been undertaken by Verrazano in 1524. 
He states that he landed in the vicinity of Cape Fear, North Carolina ; then sailed 
about 150 miles southward along the coast, and then, turning north, sailed to what 
is now New York Bay, afterward cruising along the coast of New England. 

2 Cartier (Kar-te-ay', French pronunciation) : he made his first expedition in 
1534, to Newfoundland and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 

3 Cabeza De Vaca (Kah-ba'thah Day Vah'kah, Spanish pronunciation). 

4 Narvaez (Nar-vah'eth, Spanish pronunciation). 

5 Compostela, twenty miles from the Pacific. Lat. 21° 10'. From that place thev 
went to the city of Mexico. See Map of America, page 35. 



> 



28 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific, but they probably had a clearer 
idea of the actual width of that part of the new world than any 
one else in it ; for they literally knew every foot of the way. 

De Vaca brought reports of rich cities in the north. Coro- 
nado/ a Spanish governor in Mexico, set out to find them (1540). 
He discovered the Great Cafion of the Colorado and some of the 
Indian stone ^ cities of New Mexico — possibly he reached what 
is now Kansas. 

22. De Soto's Expedition. — The next one to undertake the 
subjugation of Florida was Ferdinando De Soto,^ a Spaniard, as 
greedy of gold as he was cruel, and as daring as he was- greedy. 
He sailed from Cuba in the spring of 1539, with a force of about 
six hundred picked men and over two hundred horses. A num- 
ber of priests in their black robes accompanied the expedition, to 




De Soto's Expedition, 1539-1542 

(The outlines and names of States are gi 

convenience in tracing De Soto's cour 



hold daily religious services in the wilderness. Bloodhounds and 
chains were provided, to hunt and enslave the Indians. Last of 
all, a drove of hogs was taken, in order that the men might be 
sure of an ample supply of fresh meat. 



' CoTonado (Ko-ro-na'do). 



2 And sun-dried brick. 



De Soto (Da-So'to). 



DE SOTO S EXPEDITION. 



29 



The expedition landed at Tampa Bay/ and began its march ot 
exploration, of robbery, and of murder. The soldiers seized the 
natives, chained them in couples so that they might not escape, 
and forced them to carry their baggage and pound their corn.^ 
The chief of each tribe through whose country they passed was 
compelled to serve as a guide until they reached the next tribe. 
If an Indian refused to be a slave or a beast of burden for these 
insolent Spaniards, his fate was pitiful. They set him up as a 
target, and riddled his body with bullets ; or they chopped off his 
hands, and then sent him home to exhibit the useless, bleeding 
stumps to his family. 

For two years this march went on. During that time De Soto 
and his men travelled upwards of fifteen hundred miles through 
what are now the States of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Missis- 
sippi. They found no gold worth mentioning ; but, in its stead, 
hunger, suffering, and death. They deserved what they found. 

In the spring of 1541 the Spaniards, worn out, sick, dis- 
gusted, emerged from the forest on the banks of the Mississippi.^ 
Cabeza ^ had seen one of the mouths of the river, but De Soto was 
probably the first civilized man that ever looked on the main 
body of that mighty stream which rolls for nearly three thousand 
miles through the hear^ of the continent, and, with its tributaries, 
has a total navigable length of over fifteen thousand miles.'^ 

The river at that point is so wide that a person standing on the 
bank can just see a man standing on the opposite side. Here 
the Spaniards crossed. They made a long circuit of many months' 
march, getting no treasure, but meeting, as they declared, " Indians 
as fierce as mad dogs." In May, 1542, they came back to the 
great river at that point in Louisiana where the Red River unites 
with it. 

1 See Map, page 28. 

2 Corn : it was pounded in a mortar. 

3 Probably at or near a place now called De Soto Front, De Soto County ; 
in the northwestern corner of the State of Mississippi. 

4 Cabeza De Vaca : see Paragraph 21. 

5 This is the lowest estimate ; the highest is from 35,000 to 40,000 miles ! See 
" Encyclopaedia Britannica." 



30 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

This was to be the end of De Soto's career. There he died, 
and was secretly buried at midnight in the muddy waters of the 
Mississippi. He had made the Indians beheve that he was not a 
human being, but a " child of the sun," and that deatli could not 
touch him. When the chief found that he had mysteriously dis- 
appeared, he asked where he was. The Spaniards rephed that 
their captain had gone on a journey to heaven ; but that he would 
soon return. What the chief said we are not told ; but he doubt- 
less hoped that if De Soto had gone there, that there he would 
stay. 

The sur\ivors at length reached the Spanish settlements in 
Mexico. Only about half of those that had landed in Florida 
were alive ; they were a miserable band, half-naked, half-starved, 
looking worse than the savages they had gone out to subdue. 

K 23. Attempts of the Huguenots^ to establish Colonies. — 

For twenty years after De Soto's death Florida, with the adja- 
cent country, was left to the undisturbed possession of the Indians. 
Then, in 1562, Jean Ribaut,^ taking out a small number of Hu- 
guenots, attempted to plant a colony at what is now Port Royal, 
South Carolina.^ After they had got established Ribaut went 
back to France. 

The settlers numbered less than thirty. That handful of men, 
shut up in a log fort on the Atlantic coast, represented the first 
efforts of Admiral Coligny * to establish a great Protestant com- 
monwealth in America. But the Huguenots found the wilderness 
lonesome ; at length homesickness made it intolerable. They set 
to work, cut down trees, constructed a rude vessel, took their shirts 
and bedding to make sails and rigging, and started for France. 

1 Huguenots (Hii'ge-nots, g hard) : a name given to the early French Protestants. 
For a full account of them, see " The Leading Facts of French History," in this 
series. 

2 Jean Ribaut (Zhon Re-boh', French pronunciation). 

3 See Map, page 51. 

4 Coligny (Ko-leen-ye', French pronunciation) : he was the champion of the 
French Protestants. 



DESTRUCTION OF THE HUGUENOT SETTLEMENT. 3 1 

On the way they were picked up by a passing ship, and taken 
to England. Without that chance help they would probably 
have perished. 

The next year (1564) a second expedition was sent out under 
the leadership of Laudonniere.^ This time the French landed at 
the St. John's River in Florida, where they built a fort. Later, 
Jean Ribaut arrived with re-enforcements, determined, it would 
seem, to hold the peninsula against the Spaniards. 

24. Menendez - destroys the Huguenot Settlement. — The 

king of Spain had heard of the new settlement, and resolved to 
break it up. Pedro Menendez, an officer of the royal navy, was 
commissioned to clear out the intruders from territory which 
the Spanish monarch claimed by right, first, of the discovery of 
America by Columbus,^ and next, of that of Florida by De Leon."* 

Menendez started with his fleet in the summer of 1565, and 
found the French at the mouth of the St. John's River ; but after 
some manoeuvring deferred the attack for that day. He accord- 
ingly set sail, and, proceeding southward down the coast about 
twenty miles, to a point where he had previously landed, there he 
built a fort at a place which he named St. Augustine. 

Meanwhile Jean Ribaut, leaving part of his men in their fort on 
the St. John's River, set sail with the rest to attack the Spaniards. 
A tempest came up, and they were wrecked. As soon as Menen- 
dez had made his preparations, he advanced to the St. John's, 
surprised the French garrison, and massacred all but the women 
and the children. 

Shortly after his return, the Indians reported that some of the 

1 Laudonniere (Lo-don-yair', French pronunciation). 

2 Menendez (Ma-nen'deth, Spanish pronunciation). 

3 " The nations of Europe adopted the principle that the discovery of any part 
of America gave title to the government by whose subjects, or by whose authority, 
it was made, as against all European governments. This title was to be consum- 
mated by possession." — Bouvier's Law Dictionary, " Discovery." It will be seen 
from this that the Spanish title to Florida was good, but not complete, if by " pos- 
session " the actual settlement and holding of the country was meant. 

■* See Paragraph 18. 



32 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

ship^Tecked Frenchmen were on the beach not far off. Menendez 
soon found them. They were exhausted and practically helpless. 
They surrendered and were murdered. Next came the news that 
Jean Ribaut himself, with a large number of men who had been 
^\Tecked in hke manner, was a few miles away.-^ When Menendez 
came up to the French, Ribaut with a hundred and fifty of his 
followers surrendered. The rest, who numbered two hundred, 
escaped in the night. They were eventually taken, and made 
slaves for life. Out of those who had surrendered with Ribaut 
five were for some reason spared. The hands of the others — 
a hundred and forty-six in all — were tied behind them; then 
they were marched to St. Augustine, or its vicinity, and deliber- 
ately massacred. Thus the foundation of the oldest town in the 
United States (1565) may be said to have been laid in blood. 

25. Revenge by De Gourgues.^ — The king of France treated 
the affair with indifference ; but a French Catholic named De 
Gourgues vowed vengeance on the murderers of his countrymen. 
He fitted out an expedition at his own expense and sailed for 
Florida. Reaching the St. John's River, he surprised and captured 
the Spanish garrison that Menendez had left there when he took 
the French fort. Ha\dng bound the prisoners, he hung them. Over 
their heads he placed a pine board on which these words were 

' burned with a hot iron : " I do this not as to Spaniards ; but as to 
assassins." Then De Gourgues, not having sufficient force to attack 
the Spaniards at St. Augustine, set sail for France. The French 
never made a second attempt to colonize Florida, and the Span- 
iards were left in full possession. 

26. English Exploration: Frobislier; Davis. — Since the 
voyages of the Cabots (149 7-1498) the Enghsh had been occu- 
pied with other matters, and hence sent out no more exploring 

1 They appear to have been on Anastasia Island, about five miles fi-om St, 
Augustine. 

2 De Gourgiies (Deh Goorg, ^hard; French pronunciation). 



DRAKE S VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD. 33 

expeditions to the west.^ But in 1576, nearly eighty years after 
the EngHsh flag had been planted on the North American conti- 
nent,^ Sir Martin Frobisher set out to see if he could not discover 
a northwestern passage to Asia. His object was to reach the 
Indies, and secure part of the trade for England ; for since the 
Portuguese had opened up a route to that country by way of the 
Cape of Good Hope,'^ they held the control of that commerce. 

Frobisher crossed the Atlantic and cruised about in the seas 
and straits north of North America, but accomplished nothing. 
Among the curiosities he carried back was a black stone. When 
examined in London this was said to have gold in it. The story 
soon got into circulation that the lucky captain had actually found 
the spot in those frozen regions of the north where King Solomon 
dug the gold for his temple in Jerusalem ! A stock company was 
formed, and Frobisher went out and brought back several ship- 
loads of black stones. What became of them does not appear. 
It was a subject the stockholders preferred not to talk about. 
That was the last heard of " Solomon's mines " ; and a few years 
later we find Frobisher's wife begging help of the government, and 
calling herself " the most miserable poor woman in the world." 
These expeditions were followed by a persistent attempt on the 
part of Captain John Davis to push his way through the same 
seas. He, like Frobisher, left his name on the map of that deso- 
late region, but that was all.* 

27. Sir Humphrey Gilbert's Expedition ; Drake's Voyage 
round the World. — The next two expeditions by the English 

1 See ■' The Leading Facts of English History," in this series. 

2 See Paragraph 14. 

3 Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese navigator (see Map, page 12), succeeded in 
doubling the Cape of Good Hope in 1497. He reached Calicut on the Malabar 
coast of India in 1498, and at a later period established a trading post there. The 
Portuguese thus became " the sole masters and dispensers of the treasure of the 
East," and held control of India for over a century. 

4 The Map on page 33 is interesting as showing how little was then really known 
of the North American continent. By examining it, it will be seen that the upper 



34 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

were of a different character. In 1578 Sir Humphrey Gilbert, 
half-brother to Sir Walter Raleigh, of whom we shall presently 
speak, obtained a charter from Queen Elizabeth granting him any 
new lands he might discover in America or the west. Gilbert 
started the next year, with his little fleet ; but one ship was lost, 
and he was compelled to turn back. In 1583 he made a second 
attempt, and landed on Newfoundland, of which he took posses- 
sion for the queen. Not long after, his largest ship was wrecked. 
But two vessels of the fleet were now left ; and Gilbert started in 
the smaller of them, a tiny craft of only ten tons, on his home- 
ward voyage. The weather was tempestuous, and the captain of 
the larger vessel begged Gilbert to go in the ship with him ; but 
he would not forsake his crew. " We are as near to heaven by 
sea as by land," said he. That was the last heard of him ; that 
night his little vessel was swallowed up by the waves. Let us 
trust that he found his brave words true. 

Meantime Sir Francis Drake had sailed (1577) on a piratical 
expedition against the Spaniards and their settlements in South 
America. He passed through Magellan's Strait, entered the 
Pacific, and made havoc as he went along. He kept on north- 
ward until he reached what is now the coast of Oregon.^ He 
hoped, in this part of his voyage, to find a passage opening 
through to the Atlantic which might be used for trade with the 
Indies. He landed at several points, and refitted his ships at a 
place now called Drake's Bay, about thirty miles north of San 
Francisco. The Spaniards, who had been there before him, had 
named the country California.^ Drake took possession of the 
whole coast, and gave it the name of New Albion.^ He then 

part was supposed to be very narrow, from north to south, with a broad channel 
through to the Pacific ; for Frobisher Strait and Davis Strait, see Map, page 35. 

1 He reached latitude 43°, in Southern Oregon ; or, as some accounts say, 48°. 

2 California: a name probably derived from a Spanish romance of 1510, in 
which a fabulous island rich in gold and precious stones is so called. 

8 England is called Albion, a name once supposed to mean the Country of the 
White Cliffs. Drake saw a part of the shore of the Pacific coast of America, which, 
perhaps, reminded him of th6 <;halk cliffs of his native land. 



Av 




J^ 







« 



'J 



\ 
/ 



A 



N 







/ 



/ 



MAP SHOWING THE EARLY VOYAGES TO AMERICA, 
WITH THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS. 

The heavy black coast line indicates what parts of 
the two continents were then known. 



RALEIGH S EXPEDITION. 35 

crossed the Pacific, and returned to England by way of the Cape 
of Good Hope/ having, as it was said then, " ploughed a furrow 
round the world." He was the first Englishman who circumnavi- 
gated the globe (i577-i579)- 

28. Walter Raleigh^s Exploring Expedition to Virginia. 

— In 1584 Walter Raleigh,- a favorite of Queen Elizabeth, re- 
ceived a charter from her granting him the right to explore and 
settle the eastern coast of America. That charter made Raleigh 
governor, with full power to enact laws for any colony he might 
establish ; but it expressly said that the settlers were to enjoy 
all the political and religious rights and privileges which they had 
in England. 

Raleigh was one of the few men of that day who believed that 
the northern part of the new world was worth settling. Most of 
the expeditions, as we have seen, had for their object to find a 
way through or round the continent to Asia ; but Raleigh thought 
that perhaps in the end America might prove to be quite as 
profitable as the Indies. 

He sent out two ships, in the summer of 1584, to explore.^ 
The EngHsh reached Roanoke Island, off the coast of what is 
now North Carolina. There they landed, and were hospitably 
entertained by the Indians. The explorers were delighted with 
the "native Americans," and spent several weeks, as they said, 
"eating and drinking very merrily" with the red men. When 
the expedition returned to England, the queen was so highly 
pleased with their description of the " Good Land " and the good 
people in it, that she named it Virginia, in honor of her own 
maiden life, and knighted the fortunate Raleigh, who now became 
Sir Walter. 

29. Sir Walter Raleigh's Colony; the New "Roof and 
the New Weed. — In the summer of 1585 Raleigh sent out a hun- 

1 See Map on page 35, and also Map on page 12. 

2 Raleigh (Raw'le, but usually pronounced Ral'ly in England). 

3 Under the command of Captains Amidas and Barlow. 



36 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

dred and eight emigrants under Ralph Lane, who was to act as 
deputy governor. The new colony established itself on Roanoke 
Island. It certainly did not lack room ; for Virginia, as held by 
Sir Walter's charter, extended from the southern boundary of what 
is now North Carolina to beyond Halifax.^ Westward it reached 
six hundred miles, or nearly to the Mississippi. 

But the colonists had not been well chosen. They would not 
work. Lane said, " they had little understanding, less discretion, 
and ^lore tongue than was needful." After less than a year's trial 
of the country the emigrants returned to England. Still the ex- 
periment had not been an utter failure, for they carried back a 
peculiar kind of "root" — as they called it. When boiled or 
baked, the English found it excellent. Thus the Potato^ became 
an article of food in the British Islands. 

But this was not all. The Indians had a weed whose leaves 
they dried and smoked with great satisfaction. They told the' 
white men of Roanoke that "it would cure being tired." The 
emigrants tried it, and one of them said that the plant had so 
many virtues that " it would take an entire volume to describe 
them all." The courtiers of Queen Elizabeth tested these virtues ; 
and the queen, after smoking a little of it, confessed that it was 
"a vegetable of singular strength and power." The consequence 
was that from that time the air of England was never entirely 
free from tobacco smoke. We shall see later that this plant was 
destined to have a very important influence on American trade, 
and also on American history. 

30. Raleigh sends out a Second Colony ; Croatoan. — 

Raleigh, though disappointed at the return of his first colony, 
resolved to send out a second. The emigrants of 1585 were all 

1 That is, from latitude 34<^ to 45°. The charter gave Raleigh control of the 
whole territory for six hundred miles in every direction round his settlement. 

2 The potato, by which is meant the common not the sweet potato, was not cul- 
tivated by the Indians, and it is supposed that the Spaniards may have brought it 
to Virginia from some other part of the continent. The potato is an American 
vegetable ; strictly speaking, it is not a true root, but an underground stem. 



CROATOAN. 37 

men; but those of 1587 were, many of them, men with wives 
and famiUes. Sir Walter's hope was that they would make per- 
manent homes in the wilderness, and establish a city named after 
him. John White, the deputy governor who was to act for Sir 
Walter, carried a charter, and proceeded to lay the log foundations 
of the " City of Raleigh." 

The governor's daughter, Eleanor Dare, was the wife of one of 
the settlers. Shortly after her landing, Mrs. Dare gave birth to a 
daughter. She was the first child born of English parents in 
America, and was baptized by the name Virginia. 

Governor White soon sailed for England to get further help for 
the colony, leaving his daughter and his granddaughter, little Vir- 
ginia Dare, to await his return. That was the last he ever saw of 
them. Circumstances prevented his return for three years. When 
he did go back Roanoke Island was deserted. The only trace of 
the missing settlers was the word CROATOAN cut in bold letters 
on a tree. It had been agreed, before White left, that if the 
colonists abandoned the settlement, they should carve the name 
of the place to which they had gone, on a tree or post. If they 
went away in distress, they were to cut a cross above the name. 
There was the name, but no cross. Croatoan, as shown on early 
maps, was an Indian village on an island not far away ; but though 
repeated search was eventually made there and elsewhere, not one 
of the colonists was ever found. Sir Walter Raleigh was obliged 
to give up his project ; and America was left with not a single 
English settler, but with many '' English graves." 

Raleigh had spent over forty thousand pounds on the colony. 
Such a sum probably represented upwards of a million of dollars 
now. He could do no more ; but he said, '^ I shall live to see it 
an English nation." He did Hve to see a permanent English 
settlement established in Virginia in 1607. A hundred and eighty- 
five years after that event (1792) Sir Walter's name was given to 
the seat of government of North Carolina, and thus the " City of 
Raleigh " was enrolled among the capitals of the United States. 

Sir Walter's example was not lost ; and from his day England 



38 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

kept the colonization of America in mind, until she finally accom- 
plished it. For these reasons Raleigh is rightly regarded as one 
of the founders of the American nation. 

31. White Settlers in 1600 in what is now the United 
States. — As late as the year 1600 there seemed small promise 
that this country would ever be settled and governed by the Eng- 
lish-speaking race. Look at the situation. More than a hundred 
years had passed since Columbus landed ; yet the only white in- 
habitants of the territory now embraced in the United States were 
a few hundred Spaniards in St. Augustine, Florida, and perhaps a 
few hundred more in Santa F6,^ New INIexico, the second oldest 
town. Over the rest of the country, embracing more than three 
millions of square miles, the Indians ruled supreme. France had 
tried to get a foothold on the Atlantic coast and had failed ; Eng- 
land had tried and failed likewise. Spain alone succeeded. In 
1600 it certainly looked as though her flag was destined to wave 
over the whole land from sea to sea. 

32. What America was found to be. — Confining ourselves 
to the territory now included in the United States, let us see what 
the explorers of that, and also of a later, age found America to 
be ? In great measure it seemed to them Europe repeated. It 
had practically the same climate and the same soil. It produced, 
or was capable of producing, the same trees, the same fruits, the 
same crops, with the valuable addition of cotton, sugar, and rice. 
In all ways it was equally favorable to human health and life. 

But this is not all. In two important respects America is supe- 
rior to Europe. That continent commands the Atlantic only; 
this commands two oceans, — the Atlantic and the Pacific. Ships 
can be sent direct to Europe and Africa from our eastern coast, 
and direct to Asia and Australia from our western. That is the 
first advantage. The second is that though America repeats the 

1 Santa Fe (San'tah Fay, Spanish pronunciation) : see Map of United States. 
St. Augustine, it will be remembered, was settled by the Spaniards in 1565. The 
date of the settlement of Santa Fe is commonly given as 1582; Winsor gives 1605. 



THE INDIANS. ' 39 

natural features of Europe in its lakes, mountains, plains, rivers, 
and forests, yet it repeats them on a far grander scale. Europe 
has nothing to compare with the Sierras and the Rockies, the Great 
Lakes, the Mississippi, Niagara, the Caiion^ of the Colorado, or 
the Western prairies. " America," says a distinguished English 
statesman, " has a natural base for the greatest continuous empire 
ever established by man."^ Such was the land spread out before 
the explorers. It seemed to offer to all who were disappointed 
with the Old World an opportunity to try what they could make 
of life under new and broader conditions. 

33. The Indians ; the Population then and now. — One 

strange fact about the country was that east ^ of the Mississippi 
the whole vast area was well-nigh a solitude. Where to-day fifty 
millions of white men live, there were then only two or three 
hundred thousand Indians.^ In going through the forests, the 
explorers would sometimes travel for days without meeting a 
human being. The truth is, that the Indians cannot be said to 
have occupied the land ; they simply possessed it. To them it was 
mainly a hunting-ground" to roam over or a battle-field to fight on. 

34. Personal Appearance of the Indians ; the ** Scalp- 
Lock.'^ — Columbus called the natives Indians ;^ but they called 
themselves simply " Men," or " Real Men " ; " Real Men " they cer- 
tainly often proved themselves to be. The most numerous body 
of Indians in the East was the Algonquins ; the ablest and most 
ferocious was the Iroquois.® They were a tall, well-made race, 
with a color usually resembling that of old copper. Their hair 
was like a horse's mane, coarse, black, and straight. Their eyes 

1 Canon (Can'yon) : the Grand Canon of the Colorado River in Arizona is 
a gorge or chasm extending for about three hundred miles. Its rocky walls rise 
from 3000 to 7000 feet above the river. 

2 Gladstone's " Kin beyond Sea." 

3 West of the Mississippi the Indian population, in the southwest, was large. 

^ The whole number of Indians in the United States now is estimated at about 
250,000. It seems to be an error to suppose that they are dying out. 

5 See Paragraph 11. « Iroquois (Ir-o-kwa'). 



40 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

were small, black, and deep set. They had high cheek-bones 
and a prominent nose. 

The women let their hair grow long. The men cut theirs off 
close to the head with the exception of a ridge or lock in the 
middle. That was left as a point of honor. It was called the 
'^ scalp-lock." Its object was to give an adversary — if he could 
get it — a fair grip in fight, and also to enable him to pull his 
enemy's scalp off as a trophy of the battle. That lock was the 
Indian's flag of defiance. It waved above his head as the colors 
do over a fort, as if to say, ''Take me if you can ! " 

35. How the Indians lived. — The Indians were savages ; 
but seldom degraded savages.^ They lived by hunting, fishing, 
and agriculture. Their farming, however, was of the rudest kind. 
For weapons they had bows and arrows, hatchets made of flint, 
and heavy clubs. 

The Indian believed in a strict division of duties. He did the 
hunting, the fighting, the scalping ; his wife did the work. She 
built the wigwam, or hut of bark.^ She planted and hoed the corn 

1 Of the origin of the American Indians, nothing is positively known. They 
may have come from Asia ; or if America is, as some geologists believe, older than 
the Old World, then the people of Asia may have originated here. 

The language of the Indians appears to be unlike that of any other race. Their 
civilization, customs, and manners varied widely. Those of the northern part of the 
country were much more barbarous than those of the southwest. The four chief 
families east of the Mississippi were : I, The Algonquins, extending from that river 
to the Atlantic. II. The Iroquois, occupying the greater part of what is now the 
'State of New York, and surrounded by Algonquins. III. The Mobilians of the 
southeast. IV. The Natchez of the southwest. 

Throughout the Mississippi Valley thousands of remarkable earthworks are 
found, such as fortifications, burial mounds, enclosures for villages, and ridges of 
earth shaped like serpents and animals. West of the Mississippi immense build- 
ings are found constructed of stone or sun-dried brick. These pueblos, as they are 
called, are often large enough to accommodate the population of an entire village. 
They are erected by the Indians of that region. The remains in the Mississippi 
Valley may have been the work partly of races which preceded the Indians and 
partly of the Indians themselves. They are of much interest to the antiquarian, 
but have no known connection with United States history. 

2 The wigwams were of various kinds. Some would hold only a single family; 



INDIAN WORK. 



41 




Birch-Bark Canoe. 



and tobacco. She made deerskin clothes for the family. When 
they moved, she carried the furniture on her back. Her house- 
keeping was simple. She 
kindled a fire on the 
ground by rubbing two 
dry sticks rapidly to- 
gether ; then she roasted 
the meat on the coals, or 
boiled it in an earthen pot. There was always plenty of smoke 
and dirt ; but no one complained. House-cleaning was unknown. 

36. The Moccasin, the 
Snow-Shoe, the Birch-Bark 
Canoe. — The most ingenious 
work of the Indians was seen 
in the moccasin, the snow- 
shoe, and the birch-bark ca- 
noe. The moccasin was a shoe 
made of buckskin, — durable, 
soft, pliant, noiseless. It was 
the best covering for a hun- 
ter's foot that human skill 
ever contrived. 

The snow-shoe was a light 
frame of wood, covered with 
a network of strings of hide, 
and having such a broad sur- 
face that the wearer could 
walk on top of the snow in 
pursuit of game. Without it the Indian might have starved in a 
severe winter, since only by its use could he mn down the deer 
at that season, 

others, as among the Iroquois tribe, were long, low tenement-houses, large enough 
for a dozen or more families. In some parts of the country the wigwams were 
made of skins stretched on poles : in others, they were built of logs. 




Snow- Shoes. 



42 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



The birch-bark canoe ^ was light, strong, and easily propelled. 
It made the Indian master of every lake, river, and stream. 
Wherever there were water-ways he could travel quickly, silently, 
and with little effort. If he liked, he could go in his own private 
conveyance from the source of the Ohio to the Gulf of Mexico, or 
from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to the Falls of Niagara. 

37. Indian Government; << Wampum. '» — Politically the 
Indian was free. Each tribe had a chief, but the chief had little 
real power. All important matters were settled by councils. The 
records of these councils were kept in a peculiar manner. The 
Indian could not write, but he could make pictures that often 
did as well. The treaty made by the Indians with William Penn 
was commemorated by a belt made of " wampum," or strings of 
beads. It represented an Indian and a white man clasping each 
other by the hand in token of friendship. That was the record of 
the peace established between them, 




Treaty- Belt made of Wampum. 



But quite independent of any picture, the arrangement of the 
beads and their colors had a meaning. When a council was held, 
a belt was made to show what had been done. Every tribe had 
its ''wampum " interpreters. By examination of a belt they could 
tell what action had been taken at any public meeting in the past. 

The beads ^ of these "wampum" strings had another use ; they 



1 In some parts of the country canoes were made by hollowing out logs. 

2 Originally all "wampum" was made of white or colored shells strung on 
strings ; after the coming of Europeans glass beads were ojften used. 



INDIAN CHARACTER. 



43 



served for money, a certain number of them representing a 
certain fixed value.^ But the Indian rarely needed these beads 
for this purpose. The forest supphed him and his family with 
food, clothes, and medicine. Under such circumstances a pocket 
full of money would have been as useless to him as to a bear. 

38. Social Condition of the Indians; << Totems.''— So- 
cially, the Indian had less liberty than the white man. He was 
bound by customs handed down from his forefathers. He could 
not marry as he pleased. He could not sit 
in whatever seat he chose at a council. He 
could not even paint his face any color he 
fancied ; for a young man who had won no 
honors in battle would no more have dared 
to decorate himself like a veteran warrior 
than a private soldier in the United States 
army would venture to appear at parade in 
the uniform of a major-general. 

Each clan* had a " totem," ^ or badge, to 
designate it. The " totem " was usually the 
picture of some animal. Among the Iroquois 
the figures of the Bear, Turtle, and Wolf were 
the coats-of-arms of the " first families " of the 
Indian aristocracy. The " totem " was also used 
as a mark on gravestones, and as a seal. The 
old deeds of land often bear these Indian marks, 
just as a grant of land made now by the United ''^dian Gravestone 

1 -, . showing the Totem of the 

States has the government seal appended to it. Turtle. 

39. Indian Religion ; Indian Character. — The Indian usu- 
ally believed in a Great Spirit — all-powerful, wise, and good ;^ but 

1 For instance, a hundred. white bc^^ds, or fifty colored ones, would buy a certain 
quantity of corn. 

* A clan was made up of kinsmen, — the descendants of a common mother. 

2 To'tem : the animal or other object represented by the "totem" was held in 
reverence by the tribe. They believed that they had descended from its spirit, and 
that it watched over them and protected them. 

S Some modern writers question this; but the weight of evidence would seem 
to show that the Indians worshipped — at least, at times — one omnipotent Power. 




„M^Ai^ 



44 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

he also believed in many inferior spirits, some good, and some 
evil. 

Often he worshipped the evil spirits most. He reasoned in this 
way : The Great Spirit will not hurt me, even if I do not pray to 
him, for he is good ; but if I neglect the evil spirits, they may do 
me mischief. 

Beyond this life the Indian looke;d for another. There the 
brave warrior who had taken many scalps would enter the happy 
hunting-grounds ; there demons would flog the coward to never- 
ending tasks. 

It has sometimes been said that " the only good Indian is a 
dead Indian " ; but judged by his own standard of right and 
wrong, the red man was conscientious. He would not steal from 
his own tribe, he would not He to his friends, he did not become 
a drunkard till the white man taught him. 

« 

40. The Indian's Self-Control ; Torturing Captives ; 
Respect for Courage. — The Indian rarely expressed his feelings 
in words, but he frequently painted them on his face. You could 
tell by his color whether he meant peace or war, whether he had 
heard good news or bad. He sometimes laughed and shogted ; 
he seldom if ever wept. From childhood he was taught to despise 
pain. A row of little Indian boys would sometimes put live coals 
under their naked arms, and then press them close to their bodies. 
The game was, to see which one would first raise his arms, and 
drop the coal. The one that held oat longest became the leader. 
If an Indian lad met with an accident, and was mortally wounded, 
he scorned to complain ; he sang his " death-song," and died like 
a veteran warrior. 

The Indians either adopted their captives or tortured them. 
They hked to see how much agony they could bear without crying 
out. The surest way for a prisoner to save his life was to show 
that he was not afraid to lose it. The red man never failed to 
show his respect for courage. An instance is found in the case of 
General Stark of New Hampshire. He was taken prisoner by the 



THE INDIAN AND THE WHITE MAN. 45 

Indians (1752) and condemned to run the gauntlet. Two long 
rows of stalwart young warriors were formed. Each man had a 
club or stick to strike Stark as he passed. But Stark was equal to 
the occasion. Just as he started on the terrible race for life he 
snatched a club out of the hands of the nearest Indian, and 
knocking down the astonished savages right and left, he escaped 
almost unhurt. The old men of the tribe, who stood near, roared 
with laughter to see the spruce young warriors sprawling in the 
dust. Instead of torturing Stark, they treated him as a hero. 

^41. The Indian and the White Man ; what the White 
Man learned from him. — The Indian was a treacherous and 
cruel enemy, .but a steadfast friend. He thought at first that the 
white man was a celestial being who had come from heaven to 
visit him. He soon found out his mistake, and acted accord- 
ingly. 

The Indian could return good for good, but he knew nothing 
of returning good for evil ; on the contrary, he always paid bad 
treatment by bad treatment, and never forgot to add some interest. 
If he made a treaty he kept it sacredly ; it is said that in no in- 
stance can it be proved that he was first to break such an agree- 
ment. Those of the early white settlers who made friends with 
the red-man had no cause to regret it 

The Indian's school was the woods. Whatever the woods can 
teach that is useful — and they can teach much — that, he learned. 
He knew the properties of every plant, and the habits of every 
animal. The natives taught the white man many of these things, 
but the most useful of all the lessons the American barbarians 
gave the civilized Europeans was how to raise corn in the forest 
without first clearing the land. 

They showed them how to kill the trees by burning or girdling 
them. Then, when the leaves no longer grew, the sun would shine 
on the soil, and ripen the corn. There were times in the history 
of the early settlements of white men when that knowledge saved 



4-6 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

them from starvation ; for often they had neither time nor strength 
to clear the soil for planting.^ 

42. Influence of the Indians on the Early History of the 
Country. — But the results of contact between the two races did 
not end here. The alliances formed between the Indians and the 
English on the one hand, or the Indians and French, who were 
rivals and enemies of the English, on the other, had important 
historical results. The hostiUty of the Iroquois nations of New 
York to the French in Canada prevented the French from getting 
possession of the Hudson River, and so separating the English 
colonies of New England from those of Virginia and Pennsylvania. 
This was a decided advantage to the English settlers, who thus 
got a firm foothold on the Atlantic coast. 

Finally, the Indian wars prevented the English from scattering 
over the country. These contests forced them to stand by each 
other, and thus' trained them for union and for independence. 

43. Effects of the Discovery of America on Europe. — 

What, now, were the effects of the discovery of the new world on 
Europe ? They may be summed up as follows : — 

I. There was a sudden and immense increase of geographical 
knowledge. That made a new map of the earth necessary, — a 
map representing it not only as a globe, but as a globe enormously 
larger than had been conceived, for it was found to contain the 
continents of North and South America and the Pacific Ocean. 

II. The new world invited new enterprise : there were vast 
regions to be explored and conquered. Spain, Portugal, France, 
and England began to plan western empires beyond the Atlantic. 
These plans gave rise to a struggle for the mastery, and to im- 
portant and decisive wars, especially between England and France. 
Men of every rank turned their attention to America, — some 
seeking wealth, others political power, others a refuge from reli- 

1 In recent times, the Sibley army tent, which is extensively used at the West by 
the United States troops, shows that useful lessons may still be learned from the 
Indians. It is constructed on a plan borrowed from the wigwams of that region. 



EFFECTS OF THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 47 

gious or political oppression. Here was room and opportunity 
for all. 

III. The discovery of the precious metals in Mexico and South 
America had far-reaching effects. Before the mines were found 
there had often been great scarcity of gold and silver in Europe. 
Kings robbed the Jews, and hired pretended chemists to try to 
turn lead into gold. Now the treasure obtained from America 
enabled them to equip armies, build palaces, and make public 
improvements of all kinds. Thus the riches which poured in 
from the west gave a new impulse to the life of the Old World. 

IV. Intercourse with America had an immense influence on 
trade and navigation. Before Columbus sailed, the commerce of 
Europe was confined chiefly to the Mediterranean. Then little 
vessels crept cautiously along the shore, peddling out their petty 
cargoes from port to port. Now all was changed. Large and 
strong ships began to be built, fit to battle with Atlantic storms, 
and ocean commerce commenced. Trade took its first great step 
toward encircling the globe. 

V. New products were obtained from beyond the sea. America 
gave Europe the potato, Indian corn,^ the tomato, and the turkey, 
for which tens of thousands of half-fed peasants were grateful. 

To these important articles of food should be added such lux- 
uries as cocoa and tobacco, and such drugs, dyestuffs, and valu- 
able woods as Peruvian bark, cochineal, logwood, and mahogany. 

VI. Before the discovery of America, sugar, cotton, rice, and 
coffee, when used at all, were imported by Europe from the Indies. 

Only the rich could, as a rule, afford them. Now they were 
either re-discovered in America, or transplanted here. In time 
they became cheap and plentiful, and even the poor of the Old 
World came to regard them as necessaries of life. 

VII. The material and scientific results of the discovery and 
settlement of America were not the only ones. Men's minds 
grew larger to take in a larger world. The voyage to America 



1 Maize, or Indian corn, if not first introduced to Europe from America, was first 
practically introduced from here ; so, too, was India Rubber. 



48 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

was like a journey to another planet. It made Europe acquainted 
with new races, new animals, new plants, new features of nature, 
new fields of enterprise. All felt that America meant opportunity. 
That was a great thought — in some respects the greatest that had 
ever moved the minds and hearts of men. It roused new hope ; 
it stimulated new and independent effort. 

44. Summary. — The period embraced in this section covers 
the greater part of a century. In it we have three classes of 
discoveries and explorations : 

1. Those of the Spaniards; these were confined to the south. 
They comprised Florida, the Pacific, the Mississippi and Mexico. 

2. Those of the French ; these related to the river St. Lawrence 
and to expeditions to the eastern coast of Florida and vicinity. 

3. Those of the English ; these included explorations on the 
coast at the far north, those of Drake on the Pacific, but, more 
important than all, those on that part of the Atlantic coast then 
called Virginia. 

Ponce de Leon and De Soto attempted to conquer Florida. 
Then came the struggle between the French and the Spaniards 
for possession of that country, ending with the triumph of the 
latter, and the founding of St. Augustine (1565), the oldest town' 
in the United States. 

The English expeditions of Frobisher and Gilbert, with Raleigh's 
project of a Virginia colony, all failed, and the country was left 
with no white occupants but the Spaniards. 

Finally, we have the effects of the contact of the white and the 
Indian races considered, and the important results of the discovery 
of America on Europe briefly set forth. 



GOSNOLD S EXPEDITION. 49 



III. 

'* It cannot be denied that with America and in America a new era com- 
mences in human aftairs." — Daniel Webster. 



-*<>•- 



PERMANENT ENGLISH AND FRENCH SETTLEMENTS. 

THE THIRTEEN COLONIES. — FRENCH EXPLORATION OF THE WEST. 
— WARS WITH THE INDIANS AND WITH THE FRENCH. — COLO- 
NIAL LIFE.— GENERAL VIEW OF THE COLONIES. 

45. Opening of the Seventeenth Century ; Gosnold's Ex- 
pedition. — The seventeenth century opened with new, and, in 
the end, successful efforts on the part of both the Enghsh and the 
French to estabhsh colonies on this continent. 

In 1602 Gosnold, an English navigator, set sail for Virginia. 
Instead of taking the usual circuitous route by way of the Canaries 
and the West Indies, he struck boldly across the Atlantic.-^ 

By this course he saved nearly a thousand miles in distance, 
and at least a week in sailing time. He landed on a cape on the 
New England coast, which he named Cape Cod, from the abun- 
dance of those fish found there. Then doubling the cape, and 
sailing south, he reached Cuttyhunk Island,^ at the entrance to 
Buzzard's Bay. 

On that island he built the first house erected in Massachusetts, 
intending to leave a colony there ; but when he had got a cargo 
of sassafras root and cedar logs, the settlers determined to go back 



1 Gosnold sailed from Falmouth on the southwest coast of England. Contrary 
winds drove him to the Azores ; thence he sailed a little north of west until he 
reached the New England coast. See Map of America, page 35. 

2 See Map on page 78. 



50 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

with him. The sassafras root was then in great djemand in Eng- 
land as a fashionable medicine and cure-all. Gosnold counted on 
a handsome profit on it. But Sir Walter Raleigh accused him of 
trespassing on his land/ and seized the cargo, much to the disap- 
pointment and disgust of the industrious sassafras-diggers. The 
expedition, however, had this result : it showed Englishmen a 
shorter and more direct route to America, and it kept up an interest 
in the country. 

I. Virginia (1607). 

46. England^s Need of America; the King grants a 
Charter to settle Virginia. — The population of England was 
then small, but many were out of employment. There were two 
reasons for this : first, thousands of disbanded soldiers had returned 
from the European wars, and could get nothing to do at home ; 
next, many farmers, finding that wool-growing paid better than 
raising wheat or barley, had converted their farms into sheep- 
pastures. This threw multitudes of laborers out of work. Every- 
where there was distress. So men naturally turned their eyes 
toward America. Such an opportunity seemed providential. As 
one preacher declared, Virginia was the door which God had 
opened to England. 

Two companies were organized to send out emigrants. One 
was called the London, the other, the Plymouth Company. The 
charter ^ given by King James I. granted to the London Company 
the exclusive right to settle in Southern Virginia between Cape 
Fear and the Potomac. To the Plymouth Company he gave 
the entire control of Northern Virginia betv/een the eastern end 
of Long Island and the northern limit of the mainland of Nova 
Scotia.^ The object of the companies was trade and exploration. 

1 It will be remembered that Raleigh's charter gave him control of the American 
coast from north latitude 34° to 45°. See Paragraph 29. 

2 See definition of charter in note on page 24. 

3 The London Company controlled the territory between the 34th and 38th 
degrees of north latitude; the Plymouth, that between the 41st and 45th degrees. 



/ 



VIRGINIA. 5 1 

The three most important articles of the charter were these : — 

I. The companies were to hold their lands free of any military 
or other service to the king, but were to give him a fifth part 
of any precious metals they might find. 

II. Each colony was to be governed by a council appointed by 
the king, and responsible to him.^ 

III. The settlers were to enjoy all the rights and privileges of 
English citizens at home. 

In addition to the charter, the king and the companies gave the 
emigrants a long list of instructions, and good advice enough for a 
population sufficient to settle the whole continent. These instruc- 
tions ordered — 

1. That the Church of England — that is, the national Episco- 
pal Church — should be established in the colonies. 

2. That for the first five years no land should be given to any 
one, but that every settler must deposit the products of his labor 
in the company's warehouse, out of which he would be provided 
with whatever he needed for his living. 

3. That the colonists should carefully explore all rivers in their 
vicinity, to see if they could not find '^ a short and easy way to the 
South Sea " ^ and the East Indi 

47. The London Company's Colony sails, 1607 ; Captain 
John Smith. — The first colony^ was sent out by the London 
Company on New Year's Day, 1607. It consisted of 105 per- 
sons, all men. Nearly half of these were classed as " gentlemen " ; ■* 



The intervening country (38th to 41st degrees) , embracing what is now the coasts 
of Maryland, New Jersey, and New York, was open to competition ; but neither 
company was to settle within 100 miles of the other. 

1 Each colony was to be under the control of a resident council appointed by 
the king ; the council chose its own president. This in turn was to be governed 
by a general council in London : both were to be subject to the king's will. 

2 The South Sea, that is, the Pacific Ocean. See Paragraph 19. 

3 The Plymouth Company's colony is mentioned under Paragraph 93, note 7. 

4 In England, a gentleman is usually understood to be a person of good family 
and of independent income. One or two of the " gentlemen " who went out to 



52 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



that is, persons of good family, not brought up to manual labor. 
The remainder were mechanics, tradesmen, and laborers. Thus 
it will be seen that a very large proportion were unfit for such 
an undertaking — they were going out tender-handed to struggle 
with the rough life of the wilderness. 

Fortunately there was a young man of decided ability among 
the colonists. This was Captain John Smith. His energy and 
courage saved the settlers from starvation. 

48. The Emigrants settle Jamestown, Virginia, 1607 ; 
Condition of the Colony. — The expedition went by way of the 

West Indies, in order to trade with the 
natives there, and reached the American 
coast in the spring. About the middle 
of May they sailed up a river of Virginia, 
which they named the James River, in 
honor of the king ; for the same reason 
they called the settlement which they 
began on a peninsula on that river, James- 
town.^ 

They found a country abounding in every 
natural advantage, and well deserving that 
name of the " Good Land," which the 
Indians are said to have given it. But 
they found themselves destitute of those 
rights and privileges which EngUsh citizens enjoyed, and which the 
charter expressly stated that they should continue to possess. At 
home many of them had a right to vote, and to take part in 
making the laws by which they were governed ; in the Virginia 
woods they could do neither, for they were ruled by a council 
that was in turn ruled by the king. 

Virginia had property, but most of them were younger sons who had not inherited 
money. They went hoping to make fortunes in the New World, either in Virginia, 
or in the Indies, which they supposed could easily be reached from there. 

1 The peninsula is now an island. It is about thirty miles up the river, on 
the northern bank. 




SUFFERINGS OF THE COLONISTS. 53 

Next, they owned no land, and the work of their hands did not 
belong to them. In this last respect they were worse off than the 
poorest day-laborer they had left behind them. Furthermore, 
the idle man was certain that he would not suffer, for he could 
draw provisions out of the common storehouse ; the industrious 
man, on the other hand, knew that by the sweat of his toil he must 
feed the idle. Considering this discouraging start, the wonder is 
that the colony not only lived, but lived to lay the foundation of a 
prosperous, powerful, and independent State. 

49. Sufferings of the Colonists ; Search for the Pacific ; 
Pocahontas. — As the weather was warm, the new settlers built 
no houses at first, but lived under rude shelters made of branches 
or of old sails. The provisions they brought with them had 
partly spoiled, and the river water was unwholesome to drink. 
Many fell ill with fever. During the hot summer the mortality 
was terrible. By September, half of the settlers had died. The 
few who were able to be about had all they could do to tend the 
sick and dig graves. 

In the autumn matters somewhat improved ; log huts were 
built, and the settlers were made more comfortable. Later, they 
urged Smith to lead an exploring expedition to find the South 
Sea.^ They set out in high spirits, supposing that, at that point, 
the country was less than 200 miles across from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific ! ^ 

In the course of the exploration Smith was captured by the 
Indians, and taken to their chief, Powhatan.^ The chief was " a 
tall, sour-looking old man " ; he ordered his warriors to knock 
Smith's brains out. According to the valiant captain's account, 
he was saved by Pocahontas,'' the chiefs youthful daughter, who 

1 See Paragraph 46, No. 3, of the Instructions to the Colonists. 

2 A map of 165 1, sold in London at that date, represents Virginia as a nar- 
row strip of land between the two oceans. See a copy of the map in Winsor's 
" America," Vol. IIL, page 465. 

3 Powhatan (Pow-at-an'). 

4 Pocahontas (Po-ca-hon'tas). 



54 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

ran up, just as the club was raised, and put her arms round the 
prisoner's head.^ 

Some years afterward, John Rolfe, a colonist who had come 
over to Virginia at a later period, became interested in Pocahontas. 
He labored for the conversion of the tender-hearted heathen, and 
labored so effectually that she not only embraced Christianity, but 
took Rolfe for her husband besides. The marriage was a fortu- 
nate one, since it made Powhatan the firm friend of the colony at 
a time when it needed all the friends it could get. King James, 
however, shook his head over the matter, and questioned whether 
Rolfe, being a man without rank, had not committed treason in 
presuming to marry a native American princess ! 

50. Gold! the French settle in Canada, 1608; the Colony's 
Debt to Smith ; the Colonists leave Jamestown. — Not long 
after Smith's adventure with the Indians, one of the settlers found 
a yellowish substance which was said to be gold. In spite of the 
captain's vigorous protests, the colonists set to work to dig the 
"gilded dust" and load a vessel with it. When the cargo reached 
England, it was indeed found to be one sort of gold ; that is, it 
was that worthless kind of glittering iron ore popularly known as 
"fool's gold." 

In the summer of that year (1608) an event occurred destined 
to have important results. Champlain, a famous French explorer, 
sailed up the St. Lawrence to Quebec, and there established the 
first permanent French colony in America. It was the feeble 
beginning of a rival power which was one day to dispute the right 
of the Enghsh to possess any part of the country.^ 

Shortly after this date Smith was chosen president^ of the 

1 Certain inconsistencies in Smith's account of the affair have caused most 
recent historians to question the truth of his story; otherwise it is not at all 
improbable. See Professor Arber's edition of Smith's works, and his article in 
the Encyclopcedia Britannica, on "John Smith." 

2 De Monts, a friend of Champlain's, attempted to establish a colony in Acadia 
(Nova Scotia) in 1604, but his enterprise failed. The first permanent settlement in 
that,part of the country was not made until 1610. 

3 See Paragraph 46, Article II., of the Charter, and note i on that paragraph. 



GOVERNOR DALE. 55 

Council, and thus became head of the government of Jamestown. 
His rule was an encouragement to the industrious, but a terror to 
the lazy. Those who tried to live without working soon found 
that they must also try that harder thing — to live without eating. 
But the captain's term of office was short, for he met with a fear- 
ful accident that made it necessary for him to return to England. 
He never revisited the colony. After he had gone, the Indians 
began depredations. They had looked up to Smith as a superior 
being, and when they wanted rain used to beg him to pray for it 
for them. Now, they did not hesitate to rob and murder the 
settlers. Everything went to rack and ruin. Sickness and famine 
set in. In six months only sixty persons were left out of five 
hundred. A ship came, bringing more colonists and some sup- 
plies ; but matters looked so discouraging that it was resolved to 
abandon the country, and go back to England. Some of the 
settlers, when they left, were for setting fire to Jamestown, but 
fortunately that was not done. None shed a tear on going ; for, it 
was said, " none had enjoyed one happy day " there. 

51. Lord Delaware; the New Charter; Governor Dale; 
the Great Reform. — The settlers had actually embarked, when 
they met Lord Delaware coming up the river with a fleet from 
England. He came out as governor under a new charter ^ which 
gave him the entire control of the colony. He had the power of 
ruling by military law, and could hang a man, without a jury to 
decide his guilt. 

Lord Delaware soon resigned, and was succeeded by Governor 
Dale. He was a stern old soldier, determined to preserve order. 
If a colonist talked against his regulations, the governor had a 
hole bored through his tongue : that kept him quiet for a while. 

1 This second charter (1609) gave the London Company the entire control ol. 
the colony. They appointed a governor to act for them. Virginia was declared 
by this charter to extend 200 miles north of Point Comfort, and the same distance 
south. Westward it reached to the Pacific, and included all islands within 100 
miles of either coast. 



56 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

If a man refused to go to church, he was put on short allowance 
of victuals, and whipped every day until he repented. 

But the new governor was not simply a tyrant. He was a 
person of excellent judgment, and really sought the welfare of the 
colony. He practically abolished the old system of living out of 
the public storehouse.^ To every settler he gave a small piece of 
land, and allowed him a certain number of days in the year to 
work on it for himself.^ From this time a new spirit animated the 
community. Up to this year the laborer had been discouraged, 
for, no matter how hard he toiled, he had nothing he could call 
his own. Now, owing to the governor's wise provision, every man 
could look with pride on his little garden, and say, " This is mine^ 
That feeling gave him heart ; before, he had worked in silence ; 
now, he whistled while he worked. Before, he had not cared 
much whether he had the right to vote or not ; but now that he 
was a property-holder, he wanted that right. 

52. What Tobacco did for Virginia. — In 161 2 John Rolfe, 
the husband of Pocahontas, began the systematic cultivation of 
tobacco.^ In the course of a few years it came to be the greatest 
industry in Virginia.* At one time even the streets of Jamestown 
were planted with it. It took the place of money, and clergy- 
men and public officers received their salaries in it. Before this, 
America had practically nothing to export. With tobacco, com- 
merce began ; for Europe would buy all the colonists could raise. 

King James denounced the use of the plant as " loathsome," 
" hateful," and " dangerous " ; but the English people filled their 

1 See Paragraph 46, No. 2 of the Instructions to the Colonists. 

2 Later, Governor Dale induced the London Company to grant 50 acres to any 
settler who would clear and settle on them, and pay a trifling rent to the king. For 
^12 lOJ., or less than ^63, any one could purchase 100 acres where he pleased. 
Whoever performed a public service to the Company or Colony was to have a 
grant not exceeding 2000 acres. ^ See Paragraph 29. 

4 The value of the tobacco crop of the United States is now nearly ^50,000,000 
annually ; that of cotton, the cultivation of which was begun about the same time, 
but not then extended, is now about $270,000,000. 



TOBACCO. 57 

pipes just the same, and smoked calmly on. Then His Majesty 
had to content himself with' laying a heavy tax on tobacco, thus 
making "the vile weed " help support the throne. 

The outlook of the colony now began to change for the better. 
The cultivation of tobacco had four important effects : i . It 
directly encouraged the settlers to clear the land, and undertake 
working it on a large scale. 2. It established a regular and highly 
profitable trade with Europe. 3. It induced emigrants who had 
some money, and also industrious farmers, to come over to Vir- 
ginia, and engage in the new industry. 4. It introduced the 
importation of negro slaves, as the cheapest means of carrying on 
great plantations. 

These plantations had a decided influence on the population. 
They kept it scattered ; and as the Virginians did not like to be 
cooped up in towns, few were built. The tobacco farms were on 
the banks of the James or other rivers, and vessels could load at 
them direct for England. Hence there was no need of a port to 
which to carry the produce. The cultivation of tobacco — espe- 
cially by unskilled slave labor — exhausted the soil, and so compelled 
the planters to constantly add new land to their estates, thus push- 
ing the owners farther and farther apart from each other. One 
result of this separation and of the lack of towns was that neither 
schools nor printing presses came into existence until very late, 
and the mass of the people had to get their education from nature, 
not from books or newspapers. Another result of the want of 
towns was that men seldom met to discuss public matters. 

53. Virginia becomes practically Self-governing; Im- 
portation of Wives. — The year 1619 was a memorable one in 
the history of the colony. That year Sir George Yeardley ^ came 
over from England as governor. Acting under instructions from 
the London Company, he summoned a general assembly or legis- 
lature, to be elected by all the freemen of Virginia. 

1 Yeardley (Yeerd'ly). 



58 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

The colony now consisted of eleven plantations, or towns,^ later 
called boroughs.^ Each of these boroughs was invited to send 
two representatives or burgesses.^ They met in the church at 
Jamestown, Friday, July 30, 16 19.* This House of Burgesses, as 
it was then called, was the first law-making assembly that had ever 
come together in America. It meant that at last the colonists 
had practically obtained the right of managing their own affairs. 
Spain would not grant that power to her colonists in St. Augus- 
tine, or elsewhere. France would have refused it to Quebec and 
to her other settlements. England was then the only country in 
Europe where the people had a share in the government, and 
England now gave that privilege * — the greatest she could give 
— to her colonists in the New World. Later, the right was inter- 
fered with and restricted, but it was never wholly taken away. 

But though the men could now discuss politics and make laws, 
many of them had no proper homes, for but few unmarried women 
had emigrated to Virginia. To remedy this serious deficiency, 
the London Company now sent out ninety young women. The 
cost of the passage for each ^ was fixed at 1 20 pounds of the best 
tobacco. 

When the long-looked-for ship arrived, the young unmarried 
men were waiting at the wharf, and those who had their tobacco 
ready soon managed to get wives in exchange. The ninety brides 
liked the country so well that they wrote back to England, and 

1 No counties had then been laid out in Virginia. Later, when counties were 
organized, nearly all the representatives were sent from them. This made the 
Virginia system of government far less democratic than that of Massachusetts 
(settled later), for there at first all pubhc affairs were decided by the whole body of 
voters, and not by a selected number of persons representing them. When the 
population of Massachusetts became too large for this, the towns, instead of the 
counties, sent representatives to the legislature. 

2 Borough : an old English name for a town. 

8 Burgess : an inhabitant of a borough or a citizen elected to represent a borough. 
The House of Burgesses, or the lower house of the Virginia Legislature, is now 
called the House of Delegates. 

* Confirmed by a written Constitution in 1621 ; see Bancroft's United States. 

4 The date is sometimes, though incorrectly, given as June 30. 

5 The best tobacco was then worth about 75 cents a pound in Virginia. 



NEGRO SLAVERY. 59 

persuaded more maids to come over and take pity on the forlorn 
bachelors in the American wilderness. 

54. Introduction of Negro Slavery; White << Appren- 
tices.'' — In the records of this same remarkable year of 1619 
we read these significant words : " About the last of August came 
in a Dutch man-of-war that sold us 20 Negars." This was the 
beginning of African slavery in the English colonies of America. 
At that time every leading nation of Western Europe traded in 
negroes. No one then condemned the traffic, for no man's con- 
science was troubled by it, and at a much later period the king of 
England derived a large income from selling slaves in America. 
The system gradually spread over the country, and a little more 
than a hundred and fifty years later (1776) every one of the 
thirteen American colonies held slaves. There was, however, this 
marked difference : at the North the negroes were nearly all kept 
as house-servants, and were not very numerous ; but at the South 
they were employed chiefly as field-hands : so that there the whole 
system of agriculture depended on them, and -many of the wisest 
and best men did not then see how tobacco and rice could be 
raised without slave labor. 

Still, for a long time the increase of negro slaves in Virginia was 
very slow, for many white people were sent over from England to 
be bound out as apprentices ^ to planters for a certain number of 
years. Part of them were enterprising young men who wanted 
to get a start in America, but, having no money to pay their 
passage, bound themselves to work for the London Company, 
provided they would bring them over. 

In some cases poor children, picked up in the streets of Lon- 
don, were sent here to get homes. Others, again, were kidnapped 
by scoundrels who made it their business to decoy young men, 
and ship them off as " servants " to America. At a later date, 
when wars and insurrections broke out in England, many pris- 

1 They were commonly called " indentured servants " or " indentured appren- 
tices," from the indentures or legal papers which bound them. 



60 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

oners taken in battle were sent over here, and sold to planters. 
Finally, in one case at least. King James I. insisted, in spite of the 
protest of the colonists, on despatching a hundred criminals to 
this country, thinking, perhaps, and possibly with truth, that ten 
years' experience here might make honest men of them. 

Thus, many elements contributed to build up the new common- 
wealth. In this respect Virginia resembled the " made-land " of 
some of our cities. There is good material in it, and there is 
some not so good ; but in time it all helps to make the solid 
foundation of stately streets and broad avenues. 

While the South was thus growing, Dutch and English emigrants 
had settled at the North. The former had established themselves 
in what is now New York, the latter, a little later, founded Ply- 
mouth, Massachusetts. 

55. Virginia becomes a Royal Province ; Governor Berke- 
ley ; the Puritans and the Cavaliers. — In 1624 King James 
took away the Company's charter. In future the colony was to 
be governed by the king as a royal province ; but the assembly 
was not prohibited, and the people continued to make their own 
laws to a considerable extent. 

The next king, Charles I., sent over Sir William Berkeley as 
governor. Governor Berkeley was a stanch Royalist. He had 
small faith in government by the people, in education of the peo- 
ple,^ or in any religion but that of the Episcopal Church of 
England. 

The majority of the well-to-do colonists and of the rich tobacco 
planters agreed with the governor. They thought that it was 
better for a community to confine the privileges of education 
and of political power to persons of property and standing than 
it was to give them to everybody who asked for them. 

1 Speaking of the colony in 1671, Governor Berkeley said : " I thank God there 
are no free schools nor printing, and I hope we shall not have them these hundred 
years." His reason was that he thought education made the mass of the people 
discontented and rebellious against authority ; but he subscribed toward a college. 



THE CAVALIERS. 6l 

But at that time there was a strong party in England who 
called themselves Puritans, because they insisted on purifymg, as 
they said, the national Church from some of its ceremonies and 
methods to which they were conscientiously opposed. That 
party was also opposed to the king, who endeavored in many 
respects to rule the country contrary to law, and in direct violation 
of the expressed will of the majority of the people. Many of the 
Puritans left their native land and sought refuge in New England, 
where they founded the city of Boston (1630). Next, a body 
of Enghsh Catholics settled Maryland (1634), and the Virgin- 
ians, who were jealous of the new-comers, made them no little 
trouble. Later, the English drove the Dutch out of New York 
and New Jersey and took possession of the country. But before 
this last event civil war had broken out in England between the 
king, supported by the Royalists, or Cavaliers, as they were called, 
and the Puritans, many of whom had left the national Church, 
and, under the name of Separatists or Independents, had set up a 
form of worship their own. 

The war went against the king. He was taken captive and be- 
headed. England was then declared a republic under Oliver 
Cromwell, and Governor Berkeley retired from office. Most of 
the leading CavaHers were men of rank, and before the war had 
been men of property. As they found the new order of things very 
uncomfortable, hundreds ^f them emigrated to Virginia, where 
they knew the Puritans and republicans were few, and the Royal- 
ists numerous, rich, and influential. 

Some of the most illustrious names in Virginia history are those 
of Cavalier emigrants. Lee was one, and Washington was prob- 
ably another.-^ 

The first was a friend of the late king; and members of the 
family of the second may have fought for him. The descendants 



1 It seems to be now admitted that the genealogy of the Washington family 
cannot be fully traced in England. There is, however, a strong probability that 
George Washington's ancestors belonged to the Cavalier or Aristocratic party. 



62 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

of these men — Richard Henry Lee and George Washington — 
gave their strength, heart and soul, to the establishment of the 
United States of America. 

56. Governor Berkeley again in Power ; the Navigation 
Laws ; the King gives away Virginia. — When monarchy was 
restored in England (1660), Sir William Berkeley put on the gov- 
ernor's silk robe of office again. For sixteen years he, with an 
Assembly that was in sympathy with him, ruled the country 
according to his own imperious will. During that long period no 
new elections were held, and consequently the mass of the people 
had no voice in the government. 

This grievance was not all. During Cromwell's time certain 
laws called Navigation Laws^ had been enacted which forbade the 
Virginians to send any tobacco out of the country except in Eng- 
lish vessels going to England, or to purchase any foreign goods 
except those brought over in English vessels. The new king, 
Charles II., now determined to revise and enforce these laws. 
Governor Berkeley protested, and all the planters with him ; but 
it was useless. The result was that Virginia's chief trade was 
almost ruined ; for the planters had to sell their tobacco for what- 
ever English merchants saw fit to offer them, and then buy their 
sugar and their cloth at whatever price those merchants pleased 
to demand. 

This was bad enough, but there was worse to come. In 1673 
the wasteful and profligate king, with one stroke of his pen, gave 
away the whole of Virginia — a territory then having a population 
of 40,000^ — for thirty-one years, to the Earl of Arlington and 
Lord Culpepper, two of his favorites. At last the matter was 
settled in favor of the colonists, but for a long time it caused great 
anxiety and distress. 

1 The original purpose of the Navigation Laws was not to restrict or injure the 
foreign trade of the American colonists, but to prevent the Dutch from competing 
with England in commerce. 

2 The population consisted of 32,000 freemen, 2000 negro slaves, and 6000 
" apprentices " or white servants. 



THE BACON REBELLION. 63 

Meanwhile, as we have seen, EngHsh emigrants, mainly Puritans, 
had established flourishing colonies in New England ; the Dutch 
had been forced to give up New York, and English Quakers had 
bought New Jersey. In the South, English Catholics had settled 
in Maryland, and colonies of Englishmen had also been founded 
in the Carolines. Thus by 1675 an English-speaking population 
practically held control of the whole Atlantic coast of America 
from Maine nearly to the borders of Florida. 

57. Deplorable State of the Colonists ; the Bacon Rebel- 
lion. — The people of Virginia were now in a deplorable state. 
They had no homes that they could certainly call their own, they 
had no Assembly that represented them, the taxes were enormous, 
and they could get scarcely anything for the tobacco they ex- 
ported. Still their lives were safe, and while life was left hope 
was left. But in 1676 the Indians suddenly rose, as they had just 
done in New England, and began massacring the inhabitants. It 
was not the first attack, but it was the most terrible. The people 
begged Governor Berkeley's help, but he did nothing. Then a 
wealthy planter named Nathaniel Bacon raised a force, and took 
decided action against the Indians. His influence finally became 
so great with the colonists that Governor Berkeley was obliged to 
allow the people to elect a new Assembly. 

They did so, chose Bacon for one of their representatives, and 
enacted a series of reform measures known as the "Bacon Laws." 
But as Bacon distrusted the governor, civil war soon broke out, 
and the "Virginia rebel," as he was called by those in authority, 
marched on Jamestown. Seizing a number of the wives of the 
governor's friends, he placed them in front of his troops. This 
"White Apron Brigade " saved him from the fire of the governor's 
guns. That night Jamestown was abandoned. In the morning 
Bacon entered it, and applying the torch, burned the place to the 
ground. It was never rebuilt. As. you go up the James River 
to-day you see the ruined tower of the old brick church stand- 
ing a melancholy memorial of the first English town settled in 
America. 



64 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 




''That old fool has 
more men in that 



Bacon soon after died ; but one of his chief supporters, named 
Drummond, fell into the governor's hands. " Mr. Drummond," 
said the governor, "you are very welcome. I am more glad to 
see you than any man in Virginia. Mr. Drummond, you shall be 
hanged in half an hour." He was executed forthwith. In all. 
Governor Berkeley put to death over twenty persons. When 

Charles II. heard of it, he 

-;;i;:n:a:-: Said, 

hung 

naked country than I did for 

the murder of my father." ^ 

But the colony never 
wholly forgot the meaning 
of the Bacon rebellion, and 
^ its protest against tyranni- 
^ cal government. The peo- 
ple's Assembly that enacted 
? the "Bacon Laws" met in 
''i June, 1676. Just a century 
later their descendants met 
at Williamsburg, nearly in 
sight of the ruins of James- 
town, and there declared 
themselves independent of 
Great Britain. 



Ruins of Jamestown. 



58. Summary. — James- 
town, the first Englisl^ town 
permanently settled in the New World, was founded in 1607. 
There the first American legislative assembly met in 16 19. Negro 
slaves were introduced the same year. The cultivation of tobacco 
built up commerce and largely increased the population but did 
not favor the growth of towns. The colony was strongly Royalist, 



1 King Charles II. had tried and executed only six out of the fifty-nine judges 
who had sentenced his father (Charles I.) to death. 



NEW NETHERLAND. 65 

and received many Cavaliers from England. Later, the Naviga- 
tion Laws injured its prosperity. There was a period of bad 
government, and Bacon attempted reform. His undertaking 
failed. But the people remembered the man and his work, and 
Virginia, a hundred years later, was the first colony to propose the 
establishment of American independence.^ 

IL New Netherland, or New York (1614). 

59. Henry Hudson^s Expedition. — In 1609 Captain Henry 
Hudson, an Englishman, then in the employ of Holland, crossed 
the Atlantic in the hope of finding a passage by water through 
or round America to China and India. 

With his Dutch crew he entered what is now New York Bay, 
and was the first Englishman who sailed up that noble river which 
to-day bears his name. He reached a point about 150 miles from 
the mouth of the river, at or near where Albany now stands. It 
was the month of September, and Hudson had good reason for 
saying, " It is as beautiful a land as one can tread upon." About 
a month before, Champlain^ had come almost as far south as that, 
on an exploring expedition from Quebec. He gave his own name 
to the lake, since known as Lake Champlain, and claimed the 
country for France. 

60. The Indians give Hudson a Reception on Manhattan 
Island ; the Strange Drink. — The Indians thought that the 
English captain, in his bright red coat trimmed with gold lace, 
must be the Great Spirit or his direct representative. They gave 
him a formal reception on Manhattan Island. In the course of 
the interview Hudson drank the chief's health in a glass of brandy, 
and then offered him a glass. The chief took it, smelt of it, and 
passed it to his warriors. Thus it went from hand to hand. At 
last it came to one more daring than the rest. He thought the 

1 See Paragraph 167. 2 gee Paragraph 50. 



66 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Great Spirit would be offended if no one tasted the beverage. 
Lifting the brandy to his lips, he bade his comrades a solemn 
farewell, and swallowed it. In a short time he began to stagger, and 
then fell unconscious to the ground. His friends imagined that he 
was dead ; but before the conference was over the supposed dead 
man came to life. He declared that it was the " strongest water " 
he had ever tasted, and that it had made him happier than he had 
ever been before in his life. Soon, every red man present had 
tried the new and strange drink. Hudson meant the gift in no 
unkindly spirit, but to the natives it was simply poison. For 
them alcohol had a fatal fascination. Since then liquor has 
probably destroyed more Indians than war and disease combined. 
The Indians were afraid of the white man's gun ; it would have 
been far better for them if they had been still more afraid of the 
white man's drink. 

6i. The Dutch take possession of New Netherland ; Jeal- 
ousy of England and France. — The Dutch, finding from 
Hudson's report that valuable furs could be bought of the Indians 
at enormous profit, soon sent over ships, and opened trade with the 
natives. In 1614 the Republic of the United Netherlands or 
Holland, took possession of the country on the Hudson River, 
and gave it the name of New Netherland. That very year Captain 
John Smith, formerly of Jamestown, Virginia, explored the Atlantic 
coast east and northeast of the Hudson.. He made a map of it, 
calHng the country New England. 

Both the English and the French now had good reason for turn- 
ing jealous eyes on New Netherland, for that province was like a 
wedge. It separated the colony of Virginia from the unsettled 
region of New England, and the point of it at the north entered 
that territory which Champlain claimed as part of New France. 
A number of years later (1623) the Dutch made that wedge more 
dangerous still by building a fort on the Upper Hudson. This 
stronghold they called Fort Orange, in honor of the Prince of 
Orange, president of the Republic of Holland ; but, better than 



MANHATTAN ISLAND. 



67 



any fort, they made a treaty with the Iroquois Indians which was 
sacredly kept by those savages. Many years afterward the English 
got possession of Fort Orange, and gave it the name of Albany, 
frorn the Duke of York and Albany. 
>i 

62. Purchase of Manhat- 
tan Island. — In 1626 the 
Dutch West India Company 
sent out a colony under Gov- 
ernor Peter Minuit.^ He land- 




Map showing the Island of Manhattan 
(or New Amsterdam) with the chief 
Dutch settlements on the Hudson. 

ed with his emigrants on the Island 

of Manhattan. * The governor bought 

from the Indians the entire island of 

14,000 acres for twenty-four dollars' 

worth of scarlet cloth, brass buttons, 

and other trinkets, or at the rate of 

about one-sixth of a cent an acre.^ The city of New York now 

occupies that land, which is valued and taxed at a good deal 

more than a thousand millions of dollars. 



ewAfTisterdam. 



1 Minuit (Min'u-it). * A Dutch trading-post already existed there. 

2 " Amsterdam, Nov. 5, 1626. 

" High and Mighty Lords : Yesterday, arrived here the ship ' The Arms of 
Amsterdam,' which sailed from New Netherland ... on the 23d of Sept. They 
report that our people are in good heart and live in peace there. . . . They have 



68 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

The new settlement consisted of a fort, a stone warehouse, and 
a cluster of log huts. Such was the real beginning of the metropo- 
lis of America. The Dutch called' the place by its Indian name 
of Manhattan, but later gave it the name of New Amsterdam. 

63. The Patroons. — As Holland was anxious to estabhsh a 
sufficient population in the province to hold it against all intruders, 
it granted a charter intended to favor emigration. That charter 
gave to any member of the Dutch West India Company who should 
take or send out fifty settlers within four years, the right to a large 
amount of land on any navigable river or bay in New Netherland. 
Such a proprietor was to receive the honorary title of " Patroon." ^ 
If he located his estate on one bank only of a river, he was to 
have sixteen miles of water-front ; if on both banks, he was 
to have eight miles on each. Inland, he might extend his settle- 
ment as far as he could occupy the soil to advantage. In all 
cases he was to purchase the land of the Indians. 

The patroon who began a settlement agreed to do three things : 

1. To pay the expenses of the emigrant's passage from Holland. 

2. To stock a farm for him on his estate with horses, cattle, and 
all necessary agricultural implements, at a small rent, and free 
from taxes. 3. To provide a schoolmaster and a minister of the 
Gospel. 

In return, the emigrant bound himself in many ways, of which 
the three following were the principal ones : He agreed, i . To 
cultivate the patroon's land for ten years, and not to leave it 
without permission. 2. To give the patroon the first opportunity 
to buy any grain or other produce he might have to sell. 3. To 



purchased the Island of Manhattan from the Indians for the value of 60 guilders 
[^24.00]. . . 

" Herewith, High and Mighty Lords, be commended to the mercy of the Al- 
mighty. 

"Your High Mightinesses' obedient, 

"P. SCHAGEN." 
^ Patroon : patron, or protector. 



PETER STUYVESANT. 69 

bring all disputes about property and rights to the patroon's court, 
of which the patroon himself was judge.^ 

A patroon named Van Rensselaer ^ took an estate in the vicinity 
of Albany, of 700,000 acres. It occupied both banks of the 
Hudson, extending twenty-four miles along the river, and reaching 
twice that distance back. Additions were made to the territory, so 
that eventually it embraced the three present counties of Albany, 
Rensselaer, and Columbia. The total area of that vast domain 
was considerably greater than that of the State of Rhode Island. 
Such a proprietor was richer than many a German prince. He 
was at once owner, ruler, and judge. He not only had a popula- 
tion of white settlers who were his servants and laborers, but he 
had moreover the promise from the Dutch West India Company 
of as many negro slaves as they could " conveniently provide " 
him. There was no one to contradict the patroon's will. He 
was clothed with authority which even Governor Minuit might 
envy : for he was actually monarch of all he surveyed. 

64. Peter Stuyvesant, the Last Dutch Governor of New 
Netherland. — In 1647 Petef Stuyvesant^ came out to New Am- 
sterdam as fourth and last governor of the province. He was a 
veteran who had given a leg to the cause of his country, and, 
having replaced it with a substantial wooden one, bound with 
silver, was familiarly known as " Old Silverleg." Governor Stuy- 
vesant was hot-tempered and headstrong; but he was honest, 
fearless, and determined to have order in the colony at any 
cost. In a picture of New Amsterdam at that period two of the 



1 In cases involving more than ^20.00 value the settler might appeal from the 
patroon's court to the Company. Other points were these : i. The settler agreed 
to bring his grain to the patroon's mill, and pay for the grinding, 2. He could not 
fish or hunt on the patroon's estate. 3. He was not to weave any cloth, but buy 
that imported from Holland. 4. If he died without leaving a will, all of his prop- 
erty fell to the patroon. 

2 Van Rensselaer (Van Ren'sel-ler) . Other noted families dating from that 
period are the Schuylers and Van Cortlandts. 

3 Stuyvesant (Sti've"gaiit)o 



70 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



most prominent objects are the gallows and the whipping- post — 
both occupied. 

The inhabitants complained of taxes, and wished to have a 
word to say how the money should be raised and spent. The 
governor resisted such presumption, but finally had to peld, and 
permit a council of " Nine Men " to be elected to assist him. 



Qov- Stuavasartt's ^ , 
or ^ 

Farm. . 





Map of the City of New Amsterdam (New York) in i660. 

Later, when the people asked for still more Uberty in this direc- 
tion, he emphatically refused j for, said he, if citizens elect their 
own officers, •'* the thief will vote for a thief, and the smuggler 
for a smuggler." 

In regard to fi'eedom of worship he was equally decided. A 
minister who ventured to preach doctrines different fi-om those of 
the Dutch Protestant Church was fined I500, and those who went 



NEW AMSTERDAM. JI 

to hear him had to pay $ioo each. This made free thought ex- 
pensive. Toward a few Quakers, who ventured into the colony, 
Stuyvesant was horribly cruel. The authorities in Holland rebuked 
him, and ordered that every man should be permitted to worship 
God in his own house in his own way ; but the governor managed 
to do as he Hked. 

Aside from these tyrannical measures, Peter Stuyvesant was a 
good ruler. He made numerous improvements in the " city " of 
New Amsterdam — a "city" that in 1656 had a population of only 
a thousand, many of whom were negro slaves. In order to better 
defend the place he had a high and strong palisade built on the 
north of the town. It extended entirely across the island from 
river to river. Such was the origin of Wall Street, which to-day 
is the great money centre of America. 

From an early period the population of the town was a mixed 
one, made up of Dutch, French, and English. The laws had on 
this account to be published in three languages. Even then New 
Amsterdam was beginning to represent all nationalities. The 
Dutch saw that the place had a future, and predicted that the 
time would come when its " ships would ride on every sea." To- 
day the miles of wharves on the East and North Rivers, lined 
with vessels under every flag, and hailing from all the ports of the 
globe, show how far their judgment was correct. But England, 
too, understood the value of the Hudson and the harbor. She 
was determined to get possession of it, first, because of its com- 
mercial advantages ; next, because, so long as the Dutch held it, 
Virginia and New England were both in danger. 

In fact, Stuyvesant had made attempts to seize the country on 
the Connecticut River, where Enghsh settlers had come in, and 
he had furthermore succeeded in getting possession of what is now 
Delaware and New Jersey. 

The English king, Charles II., claimed the whole country on the 
ground that the Cabots had discovered the coast and planted 
the Enghsh flag on it in 1497. For this reason Charles now gave 
it to his brother James, Duke of York, England and Holland 



72 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

were then at peace; but, suddenly, one day in 1664, a British 
fleet appeared off New Amsterdam, and demanded its surrender. 
Governor Stuwesant was furious. He swore that he would never 
surrender " as long as he had a leg to stand on or an arm to 
fight with"; but finding that the citizens positively refused to 
uphold him he had to submit. The English promised full protec- 
tion of hfe and liberty to the inhabitants. Furthermore, they 
agreed to grant religious liberty, freedom of trade, and a repre- 
sentative government. 

The result was that the Dutch flag on the fort was hauled down, 
the Enghsh colors were run up, and thereafter the province of New 
Netherland became, in honor of James, Duke of York, the British 
province of New York. In like manner the quiet Dutch " city " 
of New Amsterdam became " his majesty's town of New York." ^ 

Ex-Governor Stu^'\'esant went back to Holland, but soon re- 
turned to spend the rest of his days on his " great bower}'," or 
farm which was on the east side of the island, just outside the 
city limits. The street now called the Bowery recalls the " bowery 
lane " which once led to the stem old soldier's home. 

65. Summary. — Henry Hudson, in 1609, sailed up the river 
named for him. The Dutch took possession of the country, and 
called it New Netherland ; on Manhattan Island they founded the 
city of New Amsterdam. England and France were both jealous 
of the colony. In 1664 England took possession of the country, 
and named it New York, in honor of James, Duke of York. 

III. New Jersey (161 7). 

66. The Dutch claim the Country between the Hudson 
and the Delaware; New Jersey. — In 161 7 the Dutch, cross- 
ing over from Manhattan Island,- built a small fort at Bergen,^ on 

1 In 1673 New York was captured by the Dutch during war between Holland 
and England, but was given up to the Ejiglish again when peace was made, less than 
a year later. From that time until the Revolution it remained subject to England. 

2 See Paragraph 62. 3 Bergen ; pronounced Ber'gen, ^ hard. See Map. page t 10. 



NEW JERSEY. 



73 



the west bank of the Hudson. Later they built a second fort 
nearly opposite where Philadelphia now stands. The whole coun- 
try between these forts they claimed as part of New Netherlands 
though the English maintained that as the Cabots had discovered 
the coast, it belonged by right to them.^ 

In 1664, after the English had conquered the Dutch colony 
of New Netherland, the Duke of York gave the whole territory 
between the Delaware River and the Hudson to his friends Lord 
Berkeley ^ and Sir George Carteret. Sir George had been governor 
of the island of Jersey in the English Channel. During the Civil 
War he had gallantly defended that island in behalf of Charles L, 
the Duke of York's father. For this reason the Duke named the 
country which he granted to him and to Lord Berkeley, New 
Jersey. An English settlement was made that year at a place 
which the emigrants called Elizabethtown,* in honor of Lady 
Elizabeth Carteret, wife of Sir George. 

Very liberal terms were granted to settlers by the proprietors 

of this province, and the people had a 
direct part in the government. 

67. The Friends, or Quakers, buy- 
New Jersey; Treaty with the In- 
dians; Prosperity of the Country; 
New Jersey becomes a Royal Col- 
ony. — In 1674 some English Friends, 
or Quakers, bought Lord Berkeley's 
share, or West Jersey, and later William 
Penn and other members of the Society 
of Friends bought the other half, or East 
Jersey, from the heirs of Sir George Car- 
teret. 

The Friends made a treaty with the Indians at Burlington which 
was so satisfactory to the savages that they declared that if they 

1 See Paragraph 61. 2 See Paragraph 14. 

8 John, Lord Berkeley, and not Governor Berkeley of Virginia. •* Now, Elizabeth. 




SCALE OF MILES 



»5 



50 



100 



74 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

found ail Englishman sleeping in the path, they would not molest 
him, but would say, '' He is an Englishman ; he is asleep ; let him 
alone." In the same spirit of good will the Friends granted self- 
government to the colonists. The people levied their own taxes, 
made their own laws, and all settlers enjoyed religious liberty. The 
commerce of the Jerseys increased, and iron manufacture was 
begun. But eventually trouble arose about titles to land, and the 
proprietors thought it best (1702) to put the two colonies directly 
into the hands of the English government. They were united 
under the jurisdiction of the governor of New York ; till in 1 738 
New Jersey became a separate province. From this time until 
the Revolution it was ruled by a governor of its own appointed 
by the king of England. The last of the royal governors was 
William Franklin, son of Benjamin Franklin. 

68. Summary. — The Dutch first claimed possession of what 
is now New Jersey. The English Duke of York seized the country 
and gave it to two of his friends, naming the province from the 
British island o T^rsev. 

A company of English Quakers then bought the land, granting 
to the settlers most of the privileges of self-government. In 1 702, 
the Quaker proprietors surrendered their rights to the English 
sovereign, and New Jersey became a royal colony until the 
Revolution. 

rV. Massachltsetts (Plymoltth Colox\', 1620). 

69. Former Lack of Religious Liberty in England ; Catho- 
lics ; Puritans; Separatists. — When the English began to 
settle in America (1607), no countr}' in Europe had that entire 
freedom of worship which every civilized nation enjoys to-day. 
In England the law required every one to attend the Protestant 
Episcopal Church established by the government. Furthermore, 
all persons l^rd "o pay taxes for the support of that church. 

Three ck^acs of good and loyal citizens objected to that law. 



THE PILGRIMS. 75 

They were, first, the CathoHcs, who protested against the injustice 
of being obliged to aid in maintaining a creed they did not accept ; 
secondly, the Puritans,^ who thoroughly believed in the principle 
and also in the doctrines of the national Protestant Church, but 
decidedly objected to some of its ceremonies ; lastly, the Sepa- 
ratists, who, like the Puritans, accepted the religious teachings of 
the Church of England, but, not approving its forms, had sepa- 
rated from it and set up independent congregations of their 
own. 

70. Emigration of those who sought Religious Liberty ; 
the Separatists go to Holland. — Not being able to obtain the 
freedom they desired in England, many emigrants, representing the 
Catholics, the Puritans, and the Separatists, came to America. 
Here, they hoped that they might be able to worship God without 
molestation, according to the dictates of their consciences. 

The first who thus emigrated were the Separatists. In 1607 a 
congregation of these people held religious services in the little 
English village of Scrooby.^ Finding that they could have no 
peace, but were, as they said, "hunted," "persecuted," and 
" clapped up in prison," they fled to Holland, where, they had 
heard, there "was freedom of religion for all men." 

71 . The Separatists, or Pilgrims, resolve to go to America ; 
their Reasons. — In 1620 a part of the Separatists, or Pilgrims,^ 
as they now with good reason called themselves, — for they had no 
fixed home, — resolved to emigrate to America. 

Aside from the prospect of a terrible religious war between 
Spain and Holland, three chief reasons induced the Pilgrims to 

1 See Paragraph 55. 

2 In the East of England, in the extreme north of Nottinghamshire, at a point 
where that county joins Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. See Map, page 76. 

8 " So they left that goodly and pleasant city [Leyden, Holland ; see Map, p. 76] 
which had been their resting-place near twelve years ; but they knew they were 
PILGRIMS [see Hebrews xi. 13] and looked not much on those things; but lifted 
up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest country, and quieted their spirits."^ 
Bradford's History of Plymouth, 1607-1646. 



76 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY, 

leave the countn' : i. In Holland, though they were with a 
fiiendly people, yet they were among those whose language and 
customs were not English. 2. As their children grew up, they 
would naturally marry into the Dutch famihes, and in a few gener- 
ations their descendants would become Dutch. 3. Finally, they 
desired to build up a community on soil belonging to England, 
where they and those who came after them might enjoy both 
political and reHgious Ubert\', according to the Pilgrim standard 
of what was just and right. 

72. Where they proposed going ; how they got Assistance 
to go. — Tne onh* EngUsh settlement then in America was that at 
Jamestown, Virginia. The Pilgrims could not go to that part of 
the country, for no worship but that of the Church of England was 
permitted there. They eventually determined to estabUsh them- 
selves at some place near the Hudson River.^ They had first to 
get the consent of King James of England. He would not openly 
favor their going, but finally **' consented to wink at their depart- 
ure " for America. As most of the Pilgrims were poor men, they 
were obUged to get assistance for their passage. A company of 
EngHsh merchants and speculators agreed to help them on these 
bard conditions : i . The Pilgrims were to work for seven years 
without a single day to themselves except Sunday. 2. At the end 
of that time all that they had accumulated was to be divided 
equally between them and the company. On these terms a settler 
would not even own the whole of his house and garden after 
se\en years' incessant toil. But the emigrants could not do better, 
and the agreement was signed, though it made a number of men 
past the prime of life simply " apprentices and ser\'ants " to the 
company. 



1 " To find some place about Hudson's river for their habitation." — BRAD- 
FORD'S History of Plymouth, 1607-1646. 

The Pilgrims thought at one time of going to New Amsterdam (New York) and 
settling among the Dutch, but that was given up. 




'Grwis/ji/ 
DERBY J ^Zoncoln)s! 

) ^^A ^ 





'"jp/^/ 



^pfGLlSff 



cttann 



THE PILGRIMS SAIL. T] 

73. The Pilgrims sail; Myles Standish. — On September 
16, 1620, the Mayflower ?,2c^&^ from Plymouth, England, carrying 
the second English colony that was to make a permanent home in 
the new world.^ There were only 102 of the emigrants, all told, 
and of these, less than ninety could be called Pilgrims. The 
others were persons who had joined them, or were servants or 
sailors hired by them. 

Among those who were not members of the Pilgrim congrega- 
tion, but who chose to cast their lot in with them, was Captain 
Myles Standish.^ He was a man with the heart of a lion in battle, 
and the hand of a woman for the sick and wounded. Without 
his counsel and his sword it is doubtful if the colony could have 
succeeded. 

74. The Pilgrims reach Cape Cod ; the Compact. — On a 

morning late in November the storm-tossed Pilgrims sighted Cape 
Cod. They tried to go south of it, but the weather was against 
them, and two days later (Nov. 21st) the Mayflower ^W2}\y came 
to anchor in what is now Provincetown Harbor, at the extreme 
end of the Cape. 

They had no authority to settle in New England, but they de- 
cided to do so. Some of the servants had threatened that if they 
stopped there, they would be their own masters and obey no one. 
To preserve order, the Pilgrims gathered in the cabin of the May- 
flower and there drew up and signed a compact or agreement. 
By that agreement they declared themselves " loyal subjects " of 
the king, and at the same time they affirmed their purpose of 
making whatever laws were needful for the '' general good of the 

1 The Pilgrims sailed from Delftshaven, the port of Leyden, Holland (see Map, 
page 76), the last of July, 1620, in the Speedwell^ for Southampton, England, where 
the Mayflower was waiting. August 5 both ships sailed for America with about 
120 passengers. Twice the 6i?>(f<?(/wtf// put back in a leaky condition. Finally, on 
September 16 (New Style), the Alayfiower sailed alone from Plymouth on her 
ever-memorable voyage. 

2 One branch of the Standish family in England has always been Catholic ; the 
other is Protestant. It is not certainly known to which Myles Standish belonged ; 
but probably to the latter — the family of Duxbury Hall, Lancashire. 



78 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



colony." They elected John Carver for their first governor. Thus 
the new Commonwealth began : they were but a few score people, 
but they had the strength that belongs to those who fear God and 
respect themselves. 




75. They explore the Coast, and land ; Plymouth Rock ; 
the First Winter. — While the Maj;/lc>wer revmimed at anchor, 
Captain Standish with a boatload of men went out to explore. 

On December 21 they reached the harbor 
which Captain John Smith had called Ply- 
mouth on the map made by him, in 16 14. 
On the shore of that harbor lies a granite 
bowlder. It is said to be the only one di- 
rectly on the water's edge for several miles. 
According to tradition they landed on that 
bowlder. It is not a large one, only a few feet square, but it 
fills a greater place in American history than any other rock on 
the continent ; for Plymouth Rock is the stepping-stone of New 

Endand. 



A few days later, the Afay- 
flower sailed into that harbor, 
the men all went ashore, and 
the work of building a log 
hut for the general use began. 
Later, another cabin was erect- 
ed, but it had to be used for 
a hospital instead of a settler's 
home. Such were the hard- 
ships of that winter that by 
spring just half of the colony 
were in their graves. But 
when the Mayflower went 
back, in April ( 1 6 2 1 ) , not one 
of the Pilgrims returned in 
her. They had come to stay. 




Plymouth Rock. 



GOVERNOR BRADFORD. 



79 



76. Governor Bradford; Town-meeting; the Indians. — 

Soon after the Mayfiower sailed Governor Carver died. William 
Bradford (1621) was chosen to fill his place, and from that time 
for thirty-six years, until his death in 1657 he was chosen gov- 
ernor every year except five — and those five he begged off. 
Those thirty years and more of office show what the Pilgrims 
thought of the man. 

All public matters were discussed and decided in town-meeting. 
There every man met his neighbor on equal terms. There the 
laws were made. It was pure government by the people — such 
government as was known nowhere else in either this country or 
Europe except perhaps in a few districts of Switzerland. The near- 
est approach to it in America was 
the Virginia House of Burgesses, 
but that was made up of repre- 
sentatives of plantations, — later of 
counties, — and was not a meeting 
of the whole people. The laws the 
Pilgrims made they enforced. The 
man who resisted was speedily tied 
neck and heels together on the 
ground, and left there for a reasona- 
ble time to meditate on the error of 
his ways. 

Not long before his death Gover- 
nor Carver had made a treaty with 
Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoag 
tribe to the southwest. The treaty 
was faithfully kept — it was not 
really broken for more than fifty 
years. Later, Canonicus, chief of a 
tribe of hostile Indians, threatened to attack Plymouth. He sent 
Governor Bradford a declaration of war in the shape of a bundle 
of arrows tied round with a rattlesnake-skin. The governor did 
not hesitate. He took the snake-skin, stuffed it full of powder 




Monument to Captain Myles Standish 
on "Captain's Hill,' Duxbury, Ply- 
mouth Bay. 



80 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

and bullets, and sent it back. Canonicus, like a prudent savage, 
decided to let the governor alone. When trouble with Indians 
did arise later, Myles Standish soon made them confess that 
though " he was a little man, he was a great captain." 

77. The Pilgrims buy out the English Company ; what 
made the Pilgrims Great. — In 1626 the Pilgrims bought out 
the English merchants' shares in Plymouth colony. It cost them 
a large sum of money, and they had to borrow it in London at 
from thirty to fifty per cent interest. But they were determined 
to be free of the company at any cost. Henceforth every man 
had a right to whatever he could gain for himself by fishing, fur- 
trading, or farming. 

The colony increased but slowly. Even at the end of ten years 
there were only 300 people in Plymouth. Massachusetts colony, 
founded in 1630, overshadowed and finally absorbed it. It was 
not what the Pilgrim fathers actually accomplished that made 
them great ; it was the spirit in which they worked. There is 
one thing in this world that is better than success — that is to 
deserve success. That they had gained ; as their brethren wrote 
them from England, " Let it not be grievous to you that you have 
been instrumental to break the ice for others. The honor shall 
be yours to the world'' s endy 

TV. Massachusetts (Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1630). 

78. Settlement of Salem ; Governor Endicott ; Toleration. 

— In 1628 John Endicott of Dorchester, England,^ assisted in 
planting a colony on the coast of Massachusetts.^ Endicott was 
a Puritan of the most decided stamp. He wished to establish a 
place of refuge in New England for thj oppressed people of his 
own faith, and of his own faith only. 



\ 



1 Dorchester, in Dorsetshire, in the South of England. 

2 Massachusetts : an Indian word supposed to mean " the Great Hills." It was 
probably given to the Blue Hills of Milton, near Boston. The English confined 
the name at first to the vicinity of Boston Harbor. 



GOVERNOR ENDICOTT. 8 1 

The new settlement received the significant Bible name of 
Salem, or Peace,^ because there the Puritans hoped to find rest 
from persecution. The year after his arrival Endicott was ap- 
pointed deputy-governor of the colony by the London Company/ 
that owned the land, the governor-in-chief, Matthew Cradock, 
remaining in England. Governor Endicott was conscientious and 
fearless. He lived in an age when toleration, or liberty of wor- 
ship, was not only unknown in England, but when the word itself 
could not be found in the dictionary. Had it been there, the 
governor would probably have cut it out, just as, when at Boston, 
a few years later, he drew his sword and cut the red cross out 
of the English flag. That cross represented to his mind the 
ancient Catholic religion of England ; for that reason he would not 
have it on the royal banner. The word " toleration " would have 
seemed to him equally dangerous, and he would have got rid of 
that in the same way. 

Yet Governor Endicott, and those who came with him and after 
him, sincerely loved their native country and left it with regret. 
One of them,^ as he stood on the deck of the vessel that was 
bearing him to America, looked back with eyes dim with tears. 
" Farewell, said he, " dear England ! Farewell the Church of 
God in England, and all Christian friends there." 

Yet these were the same men who a little later were so in love 
with the New World that they wrote back that " a sip of New 
England's air is better than a whole draught of Old England's ale." 
These were indeed the right sort of emigrants to establish perma- 
nent colonies, and to lay the foundations of flourishing states. 

79. Ijovernor Winthrop's Colony ; Settlement of Boston. 

— But the great emigration to New England began in 1630. 
The London Company had determined to transfer their charter 



1 Salem is about sixteen miles north of Boston. 

2 This company was incorporated in London, in 1629. 

8 Rev. Francis Higginson of the First Church of Salem, 1629. 



82 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

and government from London to Massachusetts. John Winthrop, 
a wealthy Puritan gentleman of Groton,* decided to emigrate, and 
the Massachusetts Bay Company, as it was now called, appointed 
him to take the place of both Matthew Cradock and Governor 
Endicott. John Winthrop thus became the first sole and resident 
governor of Massachusetts. 

He came with a fleet of eleven vessels, bringing a colony of over 
seven hundred persons, with horses, cattle, and all things needed 
for establishing a thriving settlement. Not finding Salem to his 
liking, Governor Winthrop and his company went to Charlestown ; 
but at that place the water was not good, and there was much 
sickness. 

Opposite Charlestown is a peninsula which then had three hills, 
of which the middle one was divided into three peaks. The 



Sfiawmut, or Tri-mountain, 1630. Boston To-Day. 

Indians called the peninsula Shawmut,^ but the English named it 
Tri-mountain.^ On that peninsula, where there was an abundance 

1 Groton, Suffolk County, in the East of England. Governor Winthrop came for 
the same reason that Endicott did, because the Puritans, as he said, had " no place 
to fly unto, but the wilderness." He also felt that Great Britain needed an outlet 
for her unemployed thousands. "This land" [England], said he, " grows weary 
of her Inhabitants, so as man, who is the most precious of all creatures, is here 
more vile and base than the earth we tread upon, and of less price among us than 
a horse or sheep." — Winthrop'S Life and Letters. 

2 Shawmut, meaning, it would seem, either a place reached by water, or sweet 
water. 

3 Tri-mountain, or Tremont; this name is preserved in Tremont Street. It 
appears to have been given originally to the middle hill — Beacon Hill — because 
of its three peaks, two of which have since been rounded off. The other two hills 
were Fort Hil) (since levelled) and Copp's Hill. 



GOVERNMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS. 8^ 

of excellent water, lived William Blackstone/ an English hermit. 
He was the only white inhabitant of Shawmut. Blackstone in- 
vited Governor Winthrop and his company to move over. They 
did so ; and a Httle later we find the record of an order of the 
court commanding that Tri-mountain should thereafter be called 
Boston.^ The name was given in grateful remembrance oj^^jhe 
old city of Boston, England,^ from which place, and its vicinity, 
many of the colonists had emigrated. 

In the course of the next ten years more than 20,000 of Gov- 
ernor Winthrop's countrymen came to New England. Among 
them were high-born men and women, with graduates of Oxford 
and Cambridge, besides people of property and influence — " the 
very flower of the English Puritans." 

80 How Massachusetts was governed; Who could vote ; 
Occupations of the People. — During the first two years the 
settlers permitted a governing council * to manage all public affairs. 
Later (1634) the towns sent representatives to the legislature, or 
General Court, as it was and still is called. These representatives 
made the laws. Not all the inhabitants could vote. We have 
seen that in Virginia ^ that right was at last restricted to men of 
property, or ''gentlemen"; in Massachusetts it was confined to 
church-members. The object was practically the same in both 
cases ; the Virginians wished to keep the government of the colony 
in the hands of royalist landholders or responsible citizens ; the 
Puritan commonwealth of Massachusetts wished to keep it in the 
control of Puritans. This corner of the continent, said they, is 
ours. If others come to it who want a different religion and diff"er- 
ent kind of government, we give them full liberty — to move on. 

1 Blackstone, or Blaxton: it is supposed that he had been a clergyman of the 
Church of England. His house was on the west slope of Beacon Hill, probably 
not far from the corner of Beacon and Spruce streets. He moved to the neighbor- 
hood of Providence, where he died. 

2 " It is ordered that Trimontaine [Tri-mountain] shall be called Boston." 
Sept. 17th, 1630. 3 Boston, Lincolnshire, on the east coast of England. 

4 " Court of Assistants " : nominally i8 ; really only 12. ^ See Paragraph 55. 




SCALE OF MILES 

25 50 100 



/ C OJN N. ! -J 



84 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Governor Winthrop, like Governor Berkeley of Virginia,^ did not 
believe in giving the privilege of voting to all who asked it. He 
and his friends wanted a state governed not by the majority, but 
by a select few. "The best part of a community," said he, "is 
always the least, and of that part the wiser are still less." 

The population of the 
1 ] \^/ SCALE OF MILES . | colony was to a large ex- 

tent gathered in towns 
along the coast. Much of 
the soil was too poor to 
produce good crops, and 
there were no great plan- 
tations or estates like those of Virginia. But what the colonists 
could not get from the land, they got either directly or indirectly 
from the sea. Thousands of men were engaged in the cod fisher- 
ies on the banks of Newfoundland, and many were employed in the 
construction of vessels. Boston, it is said, had then the best ship- 
builders in the world. Massachusetts had also a thriving com- 
merce with the West Indies. The colonists sent out cargoes of 
staves and lumber, and imported quantities of sugar and molasses 
from which they distilled the famous "New England rum," an 
article which most people then considered one of the necessaries 
of life. 

81. Banishment of Roger Williams and Mrs. Hutchinson. 

— It was partly in accordance with this exclusive view that the 
Puritans of Massachusetts banished Roger Williams. He had 
come from England as a minister, and was settled over the church 
in Salem. He was one of the very few men of that day who 
thoroughly believed in religious freedom, or, as he called it, " soul 
liberty." " No one," said he, " should be bound to maintain a 
worship against his own consent." To say that was to strike 
directly at the law of Massachusetts, which required every man to 
attend public worship and to pay for its support. But not only did 



1 See Paragraph 55. 



ROGER WILLIAMS. 8$ 

Roger Williams get into trouble on account of his denial of the 
right of one man to interfere in any way whatever with the liberty 
of another's conscience, but he greatly alarmed the Massachusetts 
authorities by his political utterances. The Company held their 
territory by a charter given by the king. Mr. Williams denied that 
the king had any power to give them the land, because it belonged 
first of all to the Indians. This was a new and startling way of 
looking at things, and the colonists feared that free utterance of 
this kind might provoke the English sovereign to take away their 
charter. Roger Williams was ordered (1635) ^^ leave the colony. 
Later, an attempt was made to arrest him and send him to Eng- 
land. Williams escaped. It was winter and the weather was 
bitterly cold. The fugitive took refuge among the Indians, who 
fed and sheltered him. The next spring he reached Narragansett 
Bay, and founded what is now the beautiful city of Providence. 

Whatever faults the exiled minister may have had, and what- 
ever mistakes of judgment he may have made, we should never 
forget that he first demanded the right of entire religious liberty 
or all men. 

The same year Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, a woman of remarkable 
ability and unblemished character, attacked many of the Massa- 
chusetts clergy about their religious belief, which seemed to her 
more a matter of form than of faith. She lectured or preached 
every week, and her influence was so great that a company of 
soldiers that had been raised to fight the Indians refused to march 
because their chaplain did not agree with Mrs. Hutchinson. 

The General Court thought it was bad enough to have an Indian 
war on hand without having also a war of words about creeds. 
They decided that Mrs. Hutchinson was, as they said, "like 
Roger Williams, or worse," and compelled her to leave the colony. 
Later, the Baptists were forbidden to preach in Massachusetts and 
were punished when they refused to obey the command. 

These were harsh measures, but the colonists believed that it was 
their duty to maintain their Puritan faith at any cost, and they did it. 

Roger Williams soon had a chance to show that he could 



S6 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

forgive those who had despitefully used him. The Pequots/ an 
Indian tribe of Connecticut, were plotting a massacre of the white 
settlers of that part of the country, and were trying to stir up 
the Narragansetts to attack Massachusetts. Williams used his in- 
fluence with the latter tribe to such good effect that they refused 
to fight. Thus the exiled minister was probably the means of 
saving the people of Boston and surrounding towns from the 
horrors of an Indian war. 

82. Public Schools; Harvard University; Eliot's Work 
among the Indians. — In 1635 provision was made for the 
establishment of a public school in Boston. Twelve years later 
(1647) a law was enacted practically providing instruction for every 
white child in Massachusetts. This laid the foundation of the com- 
mon school system of the United States.* Not satisfied with thus 
doing what no country in Europe had ever done, the General Court 
voted in 1636 to give four hundred pounds^ — or what was equal to 
an entire year's tax of the colony — to found a college at Newtown, 
afterward called Cambridge. It is said that " this was the first 
legislative assembly in which the people, through their representa- 
tives, ever gave their own money to found a place of education." 

Two years later the Rev. John Harvard of Charlestown left his 
library of three hundred and twenty volumes, and half of his 
estate, — or about seven hundred and fifty pounds,^ — to the 
college. The General Court out of gratitude ordered the new 
institution — the first English college in America — to be called 
by his name : such was the origin of Harvard University.^ 

The interest felt in the college was so great and so universal 

1 The Pequots inhabited the valley of the Pequot, or Thames, River, in Eastern 
Connecticut. 

* See " The Origin and Growth of Our Public Schools " (D. H. M.), Ginn & Co. 

2 Four hundred pounds : a sum probably equal in cash to ^10,000 now ; but 
as the vote was a whole year's tax, it was the same as if the State should give 
that amount to-day, which would be over five millions! 

3 It would represent about ^20,000 now. 

4 The next colleges in order of time were William and Mary College, Virginia, 
1693, and Yale University, Connecticut, 1701. 



ELIOT AND THE INDIANS. 8/ 

that at one time (1645) eveiry family throughout New England 
gave either a peck of corn or twelve pence in money towards its 
support. The people were poor, but they were determined, as 
they said, " that learning should not be buried in the graves of 
their fathers." 

Another object of founding the college was to educate and 
christianize the Indians. Pastor John Robinson, of the Pilgrim 
church of Leyden, Holland,^ once wrote of Myles Standish, after 
that valiant captain had fought a battle with the natives : " O 
how happy a thing ft would have been if you had converted some 
before you killed any ! " The captain never turned missionary, 
but Rev. John EKot of Massachusetts resolved that he would con- 
vert some. 

He labored for many years among the Indians in the vicinity of 
Boston with great success. After preaching he used to give the 
men tobacco, and the women apples, to help them digest the 
sermons, some of which were full three hours long. 

Eliot also translated the Scriptures into the Indian language. 
That Bible is probably the only one in existence of which it is 
doubtful whether there is more than a single person now living 
who can read a chapter of it. When we come to King Philip's 
War, many years after Eliot began his noble work, we shall see 
how the colonies reaped the fruit of the labors of the '* Apostle 
to the Indians." 

83. The New England Confederacy. — In 1643 Massachu- 
setts Bay united with Plymouth and with the two western colonies 
of Connecticut and New Haven in a league for mutual defence. 
The league was maintained for over forty years. Rhode Island 
and Maine wished to join it, but were refused, because the first 
had established freedom of worship, and the second maintained 
the worship of the Church of England. In that day the Puritans 
could not conscientiously associate themselves with either. 



See Paragraph 71^ Note 3. 



88 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 







100 



The object of the confederacy was twofold : ^ First, the colonies 
sought to protect themselves against hostile Indians and against 
the Dutch, who were anxious to get possession of the territory 

between the Hudson 
and the Connecticut 
Rivers. Secondly, 
they wished to ex- 
press their sympa- 
thy with the Puritan 
'party in England, 
which was then en- 
gaged in a struggle 
with the tyrannical 
king Charles I.,^ and which soon after changed England for a time 
into a republic. 

After the confederacy had ceased to exist the remembrance of 
it helped the colonists to unite against the French, who threatened, 
in 1750, to drive them out of the land. Still later, when trouble 
with England came, the fact that there had once been such an 
organization as the so-called "United Colonies of New England" 
prepared the way for that great and permanent confederacy of all 
the colonies, north and south, known first as the " United Colonies 
of America," and finally as the "United States of America." 

84. Xiie Coming of the Friends, or Quakers. — In 1656 the 
citizens of Massachusetts kept a solemn day of fasting and prayer 
on account of the news of the doings in England of a strange peo- 
ple called Quakers. It was said that they were turning the world 
upside down with their preaching, and that if they were not stopped 
they would destroy all churches and all modes of government. A 
fortnight after that fast-day the inhabitants of Boston heard to 

1 One object of the confederacy was to secure the return of runaway slaves to 
their masters. 

2 The words " you shall bear true faith and allegiance to our sovereign Lord 
King Charles " were now dropped from the oath required by Massachusetts of its 
governors and chief office-holders. 



COMING OF THE QUAKERS. 89 

their horror that two women missionaries of the Quakers had 
actually landed in their town. To them it seemed that the two 
women had come only to do mischief. 

The authorities at once thrust them into jail, boarded up the 
window of their cell that they might not speak to any one outside, 
and burned the books the women had brought with them. As 
soon as possible they put both missionaries on board ship and sent 
them to England. But others came, and all Massachusetts was 
soon in a fever of excitement. 

85. Why the Coming of the Quakers excited Alarm. — 
To-day there are no quieter, more orderly, or more self-respecting 
people than the Friends, or Quakers. Boston would welcome a 
colony of them now, and feel that the city was the gainer by 
their coming. Why did the arrival of a few of them then excite 
such alarm? The reason was that the Quakers of that time 
stood in decided opposition to the ideas of the great majority of 
sober and discreet citizens. When men asked, " Where shall we 
find what is right?" the Church of England answered, "You will 
find it in the teachings of the Church." The Puritans replied, 
" You will find it in the Bible." The Quakers said, " You will find 
it in your own heart." To most persons of that age such an an- 
swer seemed like rejecting both Church and Bible. 

But the difficulty did not end there. The Friends, or Quakers, 
had peculiar ideas about society and government. First, they 
would not use titles of honor or respect to any one, and they 
would not take off their hats to a magistrate or a governor — no, 
not even to the king himself. This appeared to the people then 
a reckless contempt of authority. Next, the Quakers observed 
no ceremonies in their worship. 

But, acting in accordance with what they believed to be the 
teachings of the Gospel, they refused to do three things much 
more important : i . They would not give testimony under oath in 
a court of justice, or swear to support the government. 2. They 
would not pay taxes to support any form of public worship. 



90 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

3. They would not do military service or bear arms even in self- 
defence.^ 

86. Excesses committed by the Quakers. — These things 
in themselves would have been quite certain to set the Puritans 
against the Quakers, no matter how conscientious the latter might 
have been. But there were other reasons why the citizens of 
Massachusetts regarded them with intense indignation. The 
shameful persecution the Quakers had suffered appears to have 
driven some of them half crazy. These unfortunate people com- 
mitted the wildest excesses. Some of them stripped off their 
clothing and went through public places to show the Puritans, 
as they said, how naked the land was of real truth and right- 
eousness. Others smeared their faces with black paint and ran 
howling through the streets, or burst into Puritan meetings on 
Sunday, and calling the ministers hypocrites and deceivers, ordered 
them to come down out of the pulpit. 

87. The Puritans punish and execute the Quakers ; End 
of the Persecution. — If such things were done now, we should 
send the offenders to an insane asylum ; but the Massachusetts 
colonists were moved not with compassion, but with anger. They 
were stern men and they took stern measures. They arrested the 
Quakers, whipped some of them through the towns, cut off the ears 
of others, branded others with red-hot irons, and drove them out 
into the wilderness. 

But the severity was useless ; the Quakers felt that they had 
a mission to the Puritans, and they persisted in returning and 
preaching it in the loudest manner. They were non-resistants, 
they would not strike back when persecuted ; but they would use 
their tongues, and their tongues were like two-edged swords. 
Finally, after repeated warnings, the Massachusetts authorities 

1 The religious belief of the Friends, or Quakers, may be summed up as follows : 
To obey conscience, and, dispensing with forms, to follow literally what they under- 
stand to be the commands of Christ. 



KING PHILIP'S WAR. 9 1 

actually hanged four of these missionaries, one a woman, on Boston 
Common, and buried their bodies at the foot of the gallows. 

The king, however, who was friendly to William Penn, a promi- 
nent English Quaker, thought it policy to order that the colony 
should cease punishing them or other persons on account of their 
religion, and the excitement gradually died out. From that day 
to this the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has had no better 
citizens than the Friends, or Quakers. 

88. King Philip's War. — In 1675, Philip, son of Massasoit, 
and chief of the Wampanoags of Rhode Island, began a terrible 
war against the colonists. While Massasoit lived, the treaty he 
had made with the Enghsh had been faithfully kept ; but " King 
PhiHp " believed that the great struggle of races was at hand, and 
that if he and his people did not exterminate the white men, then 
the white men would certainly exterminate them. Philip succeeded 
in forming an Indian league, and the savages began a sudden 
attack on the towns of Southern and Western Massachusetts. At 
last, after about two years of desperate fighting, in which the loss 
was very heavy on both sides, and many towns were destroyed, 
Philip's wife and only son, a lad of nine, were both captured. 
" Now," said the terrible warrior, *' my heart breaks. I am ready 
to die." Shortly after, Philip was killed at his home at Mount 
Hope, not far from Bristol, Rhode Island. His hands were cut 
off and carried to Boston, and his head to Plymouth, where it 
stood exposed on a pole for twenty years. Many of the Indian 
prisoners were sold as slaves to South America and the West 
Indies. Among them were King Philip's wife and boy. An 
aged minister of West Bridgewater remonstrated against this act 
of cruelty, but without avail. During the war Eliot's "praying 
Indians," as they were called, remained faithful to the whites, and 
were the means of saving many lives among the English settlers. 
With the death of Philip the Indians became discouraged, their 
power was broken, and Southern New England never again stood 
in fear of these once powerful tribes. 



92 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

89. The Salem Witchcraft. — In 1692 that extraordinary 
delusion the Salem witchcraft caused a reign of terror in that town. 
In Great Britain several thousand unfortunate persons had suffered 
death for this alleged crime, and the English statute punishing it 
was not repealed until 1736, or ''more than forty years after the 
excitement in New England had subsided." The whole matter 
seems to have originated with a few mischief-loving children who 
accused certain persons of tormenting them. Those so charged 
were tried for witchcraft, that is, for being in league with evil 
spirits, and in all nineteen persons were hanged before the terrible 
error had spent its force. Then the good sense of the Massachu- 
setts people asserted itself; and though in Europe unfortunate 
old women were still occasionally put to death on charges of 
witchcraft, no human life was again sacrificed here on such an 
accusation. 

90. Massachusetts loses her Charter; Governor Andros. 

— But before this strange outbreak at Salem had occurred, Massa- 
chusetts had lost her charter, and was no longer self-governing. 
For many years the king, Charles II., had watched the Puritan 
colony with no friendly eye. It was far too independent to suit 
his arbitrary ideas. The people of Boston were accused of 
breaking the Navigation Laws ^ by both importing and exporting 
goods in other than English ships ; they had also coined money 
without royal authority, and had given a warm welcome to two 
of the judges who had sentenced Charles I.^ to the scaffold, and 
then fled to. Massachusetts. Furthermore, they were notoriously 
opposed to the Church of England, and were believed to be 
strongly republican in their tendencies. 

Charles II. threatened, in view of these facts, to take away the 
charter of the colony. The people protested that they had done 
nothing but what they had a legal right to do. The protest had 
no effect. The charter was withdrawn (1684), Massachusetts 



i See Paragraph 56. 2 See Paragraph 55. 



SUMMARY. 



93 



became a royal province, and from that time until the Revolution 
it was governed by the king and those whom the king sent to 
represent him.^ 

The first royal governor imposed on the colony (1686) was Sir 
Edmund Andros/ who had been governor of New York. Three 
years of his tyranny produced a revolt. The people took advan- 
tage of a revolution in England which forced James II. to flee 
the country : they seized Andros and imprisoned him. They 
then recovered their former power of managing their own affairs 
in their own way, but only for a short time. 

In 1692, Wilham III. of England sent over a new charter, which 
converted Massachusetts, Plymouth, and Maine into one prov- 
ince.^ Henceforth all forms of religion but the Catholic were 
permitted, and the right to vote was no longer confined to church- 
members. But the people had no power to make any laws 
except such as the king approved, and the king furthermore 
continued to appoint the governor. 

91 . Summary. — The Separatists, or Pilgrims, settled Plymouth 
in 1620, and the Puritans settled Boston in 1630. The object 
sought by both was freedom of worship for themselves. To all 
of their own faith they gave a hearty welcome, but they regarded 
others as intruders, and the Puritans did not hesitate to drive 
them out. The colonists of Massachusetts were the first settlers 
in America who assembled in town-meeting and established gov- 
ernment by the people, and pubHc schools for all children. The 
Pilgrims, for more than half a century, did not restrict the right to 
take part in the government to church-members,* but the Puritans 
did. The object of both was to build up a strong, free, religious, 
and intelligent commonwealth ; in this they were in great measure 
successful; but in 1684 they lost the power of making their own 
laws, and had to accept governors appointed by the king. 



1 Charles II. died 1685; James II. succeeded him. 2 Andros (An'dros). 

3 With Nova Scotia added. * Not till 1671, but they excluded Quakers in 1658. 



94 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

-^ V. New Hampshire (1623). 

92. Grant of Territory to Gorges and Mason ; Settlement 
of Dover and Portsmouth. — Sir Ferdinando Gorges,^ a friend 
of Sir Walter Raleigh's/ obtained, with Captain John Mason, 
a grant ^ of the territory between the Merrimac River and the 
Kennebec. This region was called Maine, or the Mainland ; * but 
later the name Laconia was given to it because it extended back 
to Lake Champlain and Lake George.^ 

The first settlement, known to be permanent, was made at Dover,® 
.on the Piscataqua River, by English colonists, probably about 1627. 
Four years later (163 1 ) Portsmouth was settled. The chief objects 
of these colonies were to carry on the fur-trade with the Indians 
and to establish fisheries. Most of the inhabitants of the two 
settlements belonged, in name at least, to the Church of England. 

93. Division of the Territory ; New Hampshire ; Exeter. 

— After a few years the proprietors. Mason and Gorges, decided 
to divide the territory. Gorges took the part east of the Piscata- 
qua — a region now included in the State of Maine ; ^ Mason took 

1 Gorges (Gor'jez). 2 gee Paragraph 28. 

8 This grant was obtained from the " Council for New England," an English 
company organized in 1620. 

■* Some have supposed that the name " Maine" was derived from a province of 
France of that name in which Henrietta Maria, queen of Charles I. of England, 
held property; but the designation Maine, or Mainland, seems to have been given 
to the country to distinguish it from the numerous islands along the shore. 

5 Others consider Laconia to refer to the numerous lakes of that territory, or 
possibly to Lake Ontario, to which some authorities believe the grant originally 
extended. 

6 A settlement was made at Little Harbor, at the mouth of the Piscataqua, in 
1623, but it is not certain that it was permanent. 

" Maine : under the Plymouth Company (see Paragraph 46) an attempt was 
made by Sir George Popham in 1607 to found the colony of Popham at the mouth 
of the Kennebec, but the undertaking failed. The first permanent settlement on 
the mainland appears to have been made at Pemaquid Point — about midway be- 
tween the Kennebec and the Penobscot — in 1625. Saco and Biddeford were 
founded in 1630, and Portland in 1632. Massachusetts held control of Maine from 
1652 to 1820, when it was admitted to the Union as a State. 



SETTLEMENT OF LONDONDERRY. 



95 



that west of the same river. He gave it the name of New Hamp- 
shire ^ in remembrance of the Enghsh county of Hampshire which 
had once been his home. 

In 1638 the Rev. John Wheelwright 
was banished from Massachusetts for his 
openly expressed sympathy with the re- 
ligious teachings of Mrs. Anne Hutchin- 
son.^ With several of his congregation 
who had followed him into exile he set- 
tled the town of Exeter, New Hampshire. 




SCALE OF MILES 



tt 25 50 



100 



ISO 



94. Settlement of Londonderry ; 
Union with Massachusetts. — Many 
years later (1719) several hundred thrifty 
Scotch-Irish emigrants settled London- 
derry, New Hampshire.^ They introduced 
the manufacture of linen ; and soon in 
every log-cabin the hum of the housewife's little flax-wheel made 
cheerful and profitable music for the family. 

One of the descendants of an industrious Scotch settler of this 
class, but who came at an earlier period, was the eminent orator, 
patriot, and statesman, Daniel Webster.* 

In 1 64 1 New Hampshire, dreading Indian hostilities, and hav- 
ing but a small and scattered population, petitioned for union with 

1 New Hampshire and New York both claimed the territory of Vermont. New 
York did not give up her claim until after the Revolution. 

2 See Paragraph 8i. 

3 Londonderry : the name was given to the settlement by the Scotch Presbyterian 
emigrants who came from Londonderry and vicinity, in the north of Ireland. A 
desire to build up an independent community induced the emigrants to come to 
this country. 

4 Mr. Webster was born in 1782, in Salisbury, N.H., about fifty miles northwest 
of Portsmouth. He once said, in a public speech: " It did not happen to me to 
be born in a log-cabin ; but my elder brothers and sisters were born in a log- 
cabin, reared amid the snow-drifts of New Hampshire at a period so early that 
when the smoke first rose from its rude chimney and curled over the frozen hills, 
there was no similar evidence of a white man's habitation between it and the 
settlements on the rivers of Canada." 



96 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Massachusetts. The petition was granted. Furthermore, the citi- 
zens of New Hampshire, in accordance with their request, were 
permitted to vote and hold office without first having to prove that 
they were church-members, as in Massachusetts.^ 

In 1679 New Hampshire became a royal province,^ and remained 
so until the Revolution. 

95. Summary. — New Hampshire originally formed part of 
the region called Maine or the Mainland. English colonists set- 
tled Dover and Portsmouth. Emigrants from Massachusetts, and 
Scotch-Irish, later founded the towns of Exeter and Londonderry. 
The Scotch-Irish set up the manufacture of linen. Eventually 
New Hampshire was united with Massachusetts and then became 
a province of the king. 

— VI. Connecticut (1634). 

96. Emigration to the Valley of the Connecticut ; Hooker's 
Colony. — The rich lands of the beautiful valley of the Connecti- 
cut River ^ early attracted the Dutch of New Amsterdam ■* and the 
settlers of Plymouth. Both made an attempt to get a foothold 
on the coveted territory. But emigration did not begin in earnest 
until 1635. Then a number of settlements were made, which 
later united under one government. We shall now take up the 
history of these separate colonies. 

I. In 1635 emigrants from the vicinity of Boston founded the 
towns of Wethersfield and Windsor. 2. In the autumn of that 
year an English company which held a grant of the territory sent 
out John Winthrop, son of Governor Winthrop of Boston, with 
the title of " Governor of the River of Connecticut." He built 
a fort at Saybrook,^ at the mouth of the river, and thus effectually 
shut out the Dutch from that quarter. 

1 See Paragraph 80. 2 gee Paragraph 90, 

3 Connecticut, an Indian word, meaning, as is supposed, The Long River. 
* See Paragraph 64, page 71. 

5 Saybrook: named in honor of Lords Say and Brook, the two chief proprietors 
of the company. 



THE CONNECTICUT CONSTITUTION. 9/ 

3. The next June (1636) the third movement of emigration set 
in. The Rev. Thomas Hooker of Newtown, now Cambridge, Mas- 
sachusetts, started with a company of one hundred men, women, 
and children for what was then called " the West." They trav- 
elled on foot, driving a hundred and sixty head of cattle, besides 
hogs, through the wilderness. There were neither roads nor 
bridges, and the emigrants had to find their way by the compass, 
crossing rivers on rafts, sleeping under the stars, and living mainly 
on the milk of their cows. 

After a journey of two weeks through a country which express- 
trains now cross in three hours, they reached Hartford, where a 
small settlement of English had already been made. 

97. The Pequot War. — The next spring (1637) a legislative 
assembly met at Hartford, and resolved to make war on the Pe- 
quot ^ Indians, who threatened to destroy the white settlers. The 
three towns of Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor contributed 
ninety men led by Captain John Mason. The night before the 
expedition started was spent in prayer. The Pequots had a 
fortified village near the present town of Mystic. The little 
army, accompanied by Indians of tribes hostile to the Pequots, 
and with some help from Massachusetts, attacked the enemy in 
their stronghold, and, setting fire to their wigwams, literally burned 
them out. The blow was a terrible one to the Pequots. From 
that time they were hunted down like wild beasts, until in a few 
months the tribe was practically destroyed. 

98. The Connecticut Constitution. — In 1639 the inhabitants 
of the three towns of Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor met at 
Hartford, and drew up the first written American * constitution ^ 

1 See Paragraph 8i, page 86. * See Virginia Constitution of 1621, page 58. 

2 Constitution : For the same reason that a game of ball cannot be played suc- 
cessfully without some rules to govern it, so, whenever a number of people join to 
form a community or a state, they must have some form of agreement or principle 
oT union. Such an agreement is a constitution of government. Its object is to 
secure individual liberty on the one hand, and order on the other. The advantage 
of having such an agreement in writing is that it can be readily consulted ; and 



98 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



or form of government made " by the people for the people." ^ 
In the words of that document, its object was " to maintain the 
peace and union " of the settlers of the colony. 

One remarkable fact about that compact is that it made no 
mention either of the king of England or of the English company 
which held a royal grant of the Connecticut lands. It was in 
reality the constitution of a republic ; and the men who framed 
it refused to bow to any authority outside or above themselves, 
except that of their Maker. 

One reason why many of the Connecticut emigrants had left 
Massachusetts was that they did not believe in the principle of 
limiting the right of voting to church-members." The Hartford 
constitution imposed no such restriction, every citizen was po- 
litically equal with every other, and there was nothing to hinder 
his taking part in making the laws. To-day not only the United 
States but every State in the Union has a written constitution — a 
safeguard of liberty — similar in that respect to the one drafted 
at Hartford in 1639. That, then, may be called the parent of all 
that have followed. 



rlesiown 






99. The New Haven Colony; Scripture Laws. — There 
were now two colonies in the territory : First, that at Saybrook,^ 

and next that of the 



towns settled by the 
different bands of 
emigrants who had 
come into the Con- 
necticut Valley. In 
1638 a third colony, 
that of New Haven, 
was founded. It was 
made up chiefly of 




100 



misunderstandings and disputes about its meaning and application are less likely 
to occur than if it was not so preserved. 

1 Bancroft's United States (rev. ed.) I. 270. 2 gee Paragraph 80. 

8 Saybrook : this settlement remained an independent Colony until 1644, when 
it was united with the colony of Connecticut, 



THE FUGITIVE REGICIDES. 99 

people who had arrived at Boston from London the year before. 
One of its leading men was the Rev. John Davenport, a Puritan 
minister. The spring after they formed the settlement (1639) ^11 
the colonists met in a large barn to listen to a sermon from Mr= 
Davenport, and draw up rules for the government of the new com- 
munity. What those rules were we can guess from the old verse 

which tells us how 

" They in Newman's barn laid down 
Scripture foundations for the town." 

Those "Scripture foundations," a few years later, made the severe 
Jewish laws of the Old Testament^ those of New Haven. None 
could vote or hold any public office but members of the church. It 
was practically the same kind of government as that of Massachusetts. 

100. The Fugitive Regicides ; Andres and the Connecti- 
cut Charter. — These stern New Haven colonists believed heart- 
ily in justice, and hated royal oppression. In 1661 Whalley and 
Goffe, two of the judges then known as " regicides," because, 
during the English Civil War (1649), ^^ey had voted to put the 
tyrannical Charles I. to death, fled to New Haven. 

King Charles II. sent orders to arrest them. Davenport con- 
cealed the judges, and preached to his congregation from a 
passage of the Bible ^ containing the words, " Hide the outcasts ; 
betray not him that wandereth." 

The sermon had the effect intended, and the disappointed 
officers went back without capturing the regicides.^ 

1 In 1644 " the judicial laws of God, as they were delivered by Moses," were de- 
clared to be binding. Like the laws of Massachusetts, they inflicted the penalty 
of death for no less than fourteen offences. They were, however, far more merci- 
ful than the laws of England, which at a very much later period made upwards of 
two hundred crimes punishable with death — sheep-stealing being one. 

2 Isaiah xvi. 3-4. 

3 According to tradition, Goffe saved the town of Hadley, Mass, (where he was 
living concealed in 1675), in an Indian attack during King Philip's War. The 
savages were on the point of gaining the day, when a venerable man with a long 
white beard suddenly appeared, rallied the inhabitants, and drove off the assailants. 
He then disappeared. Some thought they owed their victory to an angel. 



lOO LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Charles II., who was not unfriendly to the colony, had granted 
to the Connecticut people a charter confirming their right of self- 
government. By that charter the territory was extended westward 
to the Pacific, or one-eighth the circumference of the globe, though 
no one then had any idea of the actual width of the continent. 
Saybrook had already been united with Connecticut, and New 
Haven was now joined to it. When James II. came to the throne 
he determined to take away the charters of Connecticut and 
Rhode Island as his brother, Charles II., had done in the case of 
Massachusetts. His object was to bring them directly under his 
despotic control. Sir Edmund Andros^ was made governor of 
New England, and demanded the surrender of the Connecticut 
charter. In 1687 he went with a body of troops to Hartford to 
get it. 

The Connecticut people looked upon that document as the title- 
deed of iheir liberties, and were resolved never to give it up. 

Andros met the legislature, and discussed the matter until 
evening. At his order, the precious charter was at last brought in, 
in a box, and placed on the table. Then, according to tradition, 
the candles were suddenly blown out, and when they were relighted 
the charter had disappeared. It is said to have been hidden in 
a hollow oak not far off, which was ever after known as the Charter 
Oak.2 

Andros, however, declared that the colony should no longer be 
governed under the charter, and, to show that the end had come, 
he ordered the clerk to write " Finis "^ at the close of the record 
of the meeting. When the people of Boston ^ compelled Andros 
to give up the power he had abused, the charter was produced, 
and Connecticut maintained her government under it not only 
until the Revolution, but for many years afterward (1818). 



1 See Paragraph 90. 

2 The famous Charter Oak stood in what is now Charter Oak Place, Hartford. 
It was blown down in 1856. The spot is marked by a marble tablet. 

3 Finis : a Latin word (the end), formerly put at the end of books. 

4 See Paragraph 90. 



THE CATHOLIC PILGRIMS. lOI 

/ 

101. Summary. — Connecticut was settled chiefly by emi- 
grants from Eastern Massachusetts and from England. It was the 
first colony in America to frame a written constitution of govern- 
ment — one which gave the right of voting to every citizen. The 
king granted the colony a charter confirming their power of gov- 
erning themselves. Governor Andros, by the order of James II., 
tried to get possession of the charter but failed. Except for a 
very short period, Connecticut practically continued to maintain 
her own laws. 

VI I. Maryland (1634). 

102. The Catholic Pilgrims; Lord Baltimore; Maryland. 

— We have seen how a band of Protestant Pilgrims ^ settled 
Plymouth in 1620; fourteen years later (1634) a company of 
Catholic Pilgrims came to America for a like reason — that they 
might build up a state where they could worship God without 
molestation.^ 

George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, a Catholic nobleman of ex- 
cellent ability and high standing, resolved to provide a refuge in 
the New World for the persecuted people of his faith. From his 
friend King Charles I. he obtained the promise of a grant of land 
in Northern Virginia. Lord Baltimore died before the charter 
was completed, but his son, Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Balti- 
more, received the grant. It made him practically all but king 
over a territory north of the Potomac, to which Charles I. gave 
the name of Maryland, in honor of his queen, who was herself a 
Catholic.^ 

1 See Paragraph 71. 

2 The English law imposed the ruinous fine of twenty pounds a month — a 
sum equal to not less than ^700 to ^800 now — on every Catholic who refused to 
attend the services of the Church of England. This law was not always strictly 
enforced, but large sums were frequently extorted by the government from the 
Catholics by way of compromise. 

8 Henriette-Marie of France, commonly called Henrietta Maria. The charter 
gave the territory the Latin name of Terra Maries^ or Mary's Land (Marie, the 
queen's name meaning the same as Mary in English). Maryland included not only 
the present State, but also Delaware and part of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. 



I02 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



103. The Settlement of St. Mary's; the Wigwam Church. 

— In the spring of 1634 a colony of about three hundred per- 
sons led by Governor I^eonard Calvert, — a younger brother of 
the second Lord Baltimore, — landed on the northern bank of the 

Potomac, near its mouth, and founded the 
town of St. Mary's.^ About twenty of the 
colonists were gentlemen of wealth and 
standing, — most of them probably Cath- 
olics — the rest of the emigrants were 
laborers, and seem to have been chiefly 
Protestants. Father White,^ a priest who 
accompanied the expedition, had no sooner 
landed than he got permission from an 
Indian chief to convert his wigwam into a 
chapel. This hut was the first English 
Catholic church in America. Virginia 
would not have permitted that church to 
stand ; New England would not. It was 
only in the wilderness of Maryland, in 
that mixed population of Catholics and Protestants, that it was 
safe. 





r 


I, Baltimore 
S n'29 ^ 


f iC y 




? 1 v^ 


/ ii 


^ L._4 ^ 


1634 ^ 


%fl 


''~\_^^ 


if ^ 


Jamestov^VS 

1607 Y; 


^ 


'-XT' 


\ ^ 


.. .> ' 


i ^ 




/l^ROANOKE 




^ 



104. Political and Religious Freedom of the Colony. — 

From the beginning all the colonists took part in making the laws 
by which they were governed, and in a few years Lord Baltimore 
granted them the power of originating those laws. In religion 
absolute freedom of worship was given to all Christians,^ but to 



1 St. Mary's : this name was probably given because the colonists had cele- 
brated a festival (the Annunciation) of the Virgin Mary two days before. 

2 Father White was the historian of the expedition, and has given us the first 
account of the settlement. 

8 It is true that Lord Baltimore, holding his charter, as he did, from the Protes- 
tant sovereign of a Protestant nation, could not have safely denied liberty of 
worship to Protestants ; but it is also true that he evidently had no desire in his 
heart to deny such liberty. The fact that he invited Puritans into the colony and 
protected them from persecution, shows the man's true spirit 



THE CLAYBORNE AND INGLE REBELLION. I03 

Christians only. No other colony in this country then enjoyed 
such liberty, and it was wholly unknown in Europe.^ 

The result was that Maryland became a refuge not only for 
the oppressed Catholics of England, but also for many of the 
oppressed Protestants of the other colonies of America. Puritans 
driven out of Virginia, Quakers exiled from Massachusetts, both 
came to Maryland and found homes there, and in 1649 ^ Puritan 
settlement was formed at Providence, since named Annapolis.^ 

105. The Clayborne and Ingle Rebellion ; Lord Balti- 
more's Government overthrown ; Persecution of the Catho- 
lics. — The colony, however, was not to enjoy the peace for which 
it hoped. Before Lord Baltimore received his charter, William 
Clayborne, an influential Virginian, had established a thriving 
settlement and trading-post ^ on Kent Island, in Chesapeake Bay. 
He refused to recognize the authority of Governor Calvert and 
endeavored to hold the island by force, but was driven out. 
When the Civil War^ broke out in England, the colonists of Mary- 
land, like the people of Great Britain, took sides for or against 
the king. 

Taking advantage of this division, Clayborne stirred up a re- 
belHon (1645), ^^^ kept the whole country in a turmoil for two 
or three years. Captain Ingle, who asserted that he acted under 
the authority of the Puritan Parliament of England, but who was 
practically a pirate, got possession of St. Mary's. He plundered 
it, and seizing "the venerable Father White," sent him to England 
in irons on a groundless charge of treason against the Parliament 
of that country. 

But worse was to come. After the king was dethroned and 



1 This liberty was confirmed by a law enacted in 1649. which declared that no 
person professing belief in Jesus Christ shall be " in any ways troubled, molested, 
or discountenanced, for or in respect of his or her religion, nor in the free exercise 
thereof." This law did not protect those who denied the doctrine of the Trinity. 

2 From Queen Anne of England. 

8 For carrying on the fur trade with the Indians. ■* See Paragraph 55, page 61. 



104 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

executed, and a republic set up in England, the authorities there 
sent commissioners to compel the people of Maryland to swear 
fidehty to the new government. At the same time Lord Baltimore 
insisted that as Maryland was his property the settlers should 
swear fidelity to him. The Puritans in the colony objected to 
taking this last oath, on the ground that Lord Baltimore was a 
Catholic. 

The commissioners went to Maryland, forced the governor ^ 
to resign, and put one of their own choice in his place. They 
then caused a General Assembly to be summoned at St. Mary's, 
but ordered that no Catholic should be elected to it, or should 
cast a vote for any representative. The new legislature repealed 
the statute of 1649, which had granted religious freedom to all 
Christians. In its place they enacted a law prohibiting Catholic 
worship throughout Maryland. 

Furthermore the Assembly declared that Lord Baltimore no 
longer had any rights whatever in the colony he himself had 
founded, and to which he had invited many of the very people 
who now turned against him. Such action must have reminded 
him of the story of the camel that begged shelter m his master's 
tent, and, when he had got it, kicked the owner out. 

106. Lord Baltimore restored to his Rights ; Loss of the 
Charter. — But about ten years later (1658), Parliament restored 
Lord Baltimore to his rights. Freedom of worship was again 
established and for the next thirty years the colony prospered. 

Meanwhile England had again become a monarchy, and in 
1689 WiUiam and Mary, who were pledged to support the Prot- 
estant cause, came to the throne. 

In Maryland there was an unavoidable delay on the part of the 
governor in proclaiming the new sovereigns. The enemies of 
Lord Baltimore circulated the report that this delay was part of a 
plot, and that the Catholics of Maryland — who were now not 

1 Governor Stone, Governor Calvert's successor. 



MARYLAND RESTORED TO LORD BALTIMORE. I05 

nearly so numerous as the Protestants — had conspired with the 
Indians to massacre all the people of the colony not of their 
faith. 

The story was wickedly false, but many of the Protestants were 
so foolish as to believe it. They rose in revolt, and in conse- 
quence the new king thought it wise to take the government of 
the province into his own hands. " The best men and the best 
Protestants " of the colony stood up for Lord Baltimore, but with- 
out avail. 

107. Establishment of the Church of England ; Restora- 
tion of Maryland to Lord Baltimore ; Mason and Dixon's 
Line. — The Church of England was now established as the 
government church in Maryland, and every taxpayer, no matter 
what his religion, had to pay forty pounds of tobacco yearly 
towards its support. The Catholic worship was not again allowed 
to be openly observed until Maryland became independent. 

In 1 715, on the death of the third Lord Baltimore, his son, 
who had become a Protestant, was made proprietor and governor 
of Maryland. He and his descendants held it until the Revolution 
(1776). Meanwhile (1729), the city of Baltimore was founded, 
and named in honor of the originator of the colony. 

In 1682 William Penn founded the colony of Philadelphia, in 
Pennsylvania, and from that time for many years there were bitter 
disputes about the boundary between that Province and Maryland. 
At length Mason and Dixon, two eminent English surveyors, were 
employed (i 763-1 767) to establish a boundary that would be 
satisfactory to both colonies. 

They ran a line from the northeast corner of Maryland due 
west nearly three hundred miles. At every fifth mile a stone was 
set up having the coat-of-arms of William Penn cut on the north 
side and that of Lord Baltimore on the south. That line became 
one of the most famous boundaries in the country, for it eventually 
marked the division between the free and the slave states, formed 
from the original thirteen which entered the Union. 



I06 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

1 08. Summary. — The colony of Maryland was planted by 
Lord Baltimore, an English Catholic. He, first in America, estab- 
lished freedom of worship for all Christians. The peace of the 
colony was interrupted by civil war, and enemies of Lord Balti- 
more, joining with Puritan settlers, who had come in, overthrew 
the government and forbade the exercise of the Catholic religion. 
Lord Baltimore succeeded after a time in regaining his power and 
again granted freedom of worship ; but finally the king took 
possession of the province and compelled the people to maintain 
the Church of England until the Revolution — though the govern- 
ment of the colony was eventually restored to the Baltimore family, 
who had become Protestants. 

"x VIIL Rhode Island (1636). 

109. Roger Williams seeks Refuge among the Indians ; 
settles Providence. — When in 1636 Roger Williams fled from 
Massachusetts ^ into the wilderness, his situation was one of 
extreme peril. It was midwinter and the snow was deep. 
Williams was in feeble health and a wanderer in a trackless 
forest. Fortunately he had made the Indians his friends and 
could speak their language. The exile made his way to the hos- 
pitable wigwam of the chief Massasoit,^ at the head of Narragansett 
Bay. There he found a home till spring. 

Then with five friends, who had joined him from Massachusetts, 
he went to the Seekonk River ^ and built a cabin on its eastern 
bank. Word was sent to him that the place he had chosen was 
under the control of Plymouth colony. Such a message meant 
that he and his companions must move on. Crossing the river a 
little lower down, in a canoe, they were hailed by some Indians 
who were standing on a flat ledge of rock on the western bank."* 

1 See Paragraph 81. 2 gee Paragraph 76. 

3 Seekonk River : it flows into the Providence River on the east side of the 
city of Providence. 

4 " Slate Rock " or " What Cheer Rock," on the eastern side of the city of 
Providence, foot of Povi^er Street. 



LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE. 



107 



BrookfiJld S*'" f'"V' 

.Vlopev ( 



"What cheer? "^ cried the friendly red men to the wan- 
derers. 

This welcome from the natives led Williams and his friends to 
land for a short time. Then, guided perhaps by what the Indians 
told them, they paddled down the river a little distance, rounded 
the point, and again landed at the foot of some rising ground, 
where they found a spring of excellent water. Here (1636) they 

determined to stay 
and build homes for 
themselves. Out of 
gratitude to " God's 
merciful Providence 
to him in his dis- 
tress " Roger AVil- 
liams gave to the 
place the appropri- 
ate name of Provi- 
dence. There, he, 
with others, founded (1639) the first Baptist church in America. 
To-day Providence ranks as the second city of New England in 
population and wealth. In Roger Williams's case banishment did 
not mean destruction, but growth and increased influence. 

1 10. Williams establishes a Colony; Liberty of Con- 
science; Growth of the Principle. — WilHams had at first no 
intention of founding an independent colony ; his main thought 
was to build up a mission for the conversion of the Indians. But 
others came and the town of Providence took firm root. From 
the beginning entire freedom of conscience was given to every 
settler. Maryland^ had granted such liberty to all Christians, but 
the colony of Providence did not limit it, — not Protestants and 
Catholics only, but Jews — yes, unbelievers even were protected. 




1 " What cheer ? " : an English salutation the Indians had learned from the 
whites. It meant How do you do ? or, How are you ? 

2 See Paragraph 104. 



I08 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

and thus men of all religions and of no religion were safe from 
molestation so long as they behaved chemselves. 

In all other colonies of America, as in every country of Europe, 
the government favored some particular worship, and in some 
degree compelled people to maintain it and conform to it. But 
here there was nothing of the kind. Roger Williams first laid 
down and put in actual practice what we may call the American 
principle — ^ that is, that government has nothing whatever to do 
with the control of religious belief. 

That idea was so new and strange that the other colonies 
thought it false and dangerous, and predicted that it would 
soon die out. Instead of that it steadily grew and spread, until 
in time it became a part of the Constitution of the United States, 
and there we read this sentence, which Roger Williams himself 
might have written, ^^ Congress shall make no law respecting an 
esiablisJwient of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof y ^ 

III. Settlement of Rhode Island; the Charter. — In 1638 
William Coddington of Massachusetts, with Mrs. Anne Hutchin- 
son ^ and a few others, in sympathy with the founder of Providence, 
bought the island of Rhode Island ^ and there planted the colony 
of Portsmouth and then that of Newport. A few years after, 
another colony was planted at Warwick, south of Providence. In 
1644 Williams went to England and got a charter which united 
these colonies into a province and gave them full power to rule 
themselves by such form of government as they thought best. 
That charter was confirmed by a second, issued not quite twenty 
years later, and though Andros,"* when made governor of New 

1 Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, Article I. ; compare also 
Article VI. of the Constitution : " No religious test shall ever be required as a 
qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." 

2 See Paragraph 8i. 

3 Rhode Island : a name given to it apparently from its supposed resemblance 
to the Isle of Rhodes in the Mediterranean, though some accounts state that it was 
because the Dutch called it Rood or Red Island. 

4 See Paragraph loo. 



NEW SWEDEN. lOQ 

England, tried hard to get possession of it, yet Rhode Island 
kept it as her form of government until long after the Revolu- 
tion (1842). Rhode Island always remained true to the princi- 
ple of " soul liberty," first successfully put in practice by Roger 
Williams, and not a single blot of religious persecution rests on 
the fair pages of her history. 

During the Revolution every male citizen between the ages of 
sixteen and sixty stood ready to fight for independence. 

112. Summary. — Roger Williams, an exiled minister from 
Massachusetts, with others, colonized Rhode Island and first 
established entire freedom of worship in this country. That prin- 
ciple now forms part of the Constitution of the United States. 

IX. New Sweden, or Delaware (1638). 

113. The Swedes plant a Colony on the Delaware; it is 
captured by the Dutch. — The names of the first European 
colonies in America were generally expressive of ambition, youth, 
and hope. The kingdoms of the Old World seemed resolved 
to establish still grander kingdoms in the New. The Spaniards 
had founded a New Spain ; ^ the French a New France ; ^ the 
Dutch, or Netherlanders, a New Netherland ; ^ the English a New 
England. 

In 1638 the Swedes, animated by a like feeling, endeavored to 
begin here a New Sweden. That year their government sent over 
a colony of "plain, strong, industrious people," who landed on 
the western bank of what is now known as the Delaware River.'* 



1 New Spain. This name was given by the Spaniards to Mexico, but Florida 
was also sometimes called so, 

2 Canada was also known by the name of New France. 

3 New Netherland (New York). See Paragraph 61. 

4 Henry Hudson called this river the South River, to distinguish it from the 
North or Hudson River. In 161 1 Lord Delaware, then governor of Virginia, was 
driven, when on shipboard, to take refuge in this river in a violent storm. After 
his death the English named the river, from him, the Delaware. 



no 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY, 




At a point near where Wilmii^ton now stands the emigrants 
built a fort which they named Christina in honor of young Queen 

Christina of Sweden. 

But the dream of a New Sweden was 
not to be reaHzed. The Dutch claimed 
the territory ; and in 1654 Governor Stuy- 
vesant ^ came with a fleet from New Am- 
sterdam,^ captured the country, and sent 
home those of the colonists who would 
not swear fidelity to the Dutch govern- 
ment. 

114. The English take the Coun- 
try ; the State of Delaware. — The 

Dutch had been in possession of the land 
a little over ten years when the English Duke of York seized it 
(1665), as he had already seized that on the Hudson.^ After 
holding it for a considerable length of time he sold it (1681) to 
William Penn. Penn called the country "The Territories," or 
"The Three Lower Counties on the Delaware." Up to the 
Revolution it was considered a part of Pennsylvania, and was 
under the control of the governor of that province, although after 
a time (1703) the people — among whom were many English 
Quakers and Welsh — obtained the privilege of having a legisla- 
ture of their own. 

In 1776, when the war against Great Britain broke out, the 
inhabitants of "The Territories" declared themselves a free and 
independent state, and took the name of Delaware from the river 
which forms their northeastern boundary. 

Though the smallest of all the states, save Rhode Island, Dela- 
ware was foremost in accepting the National Constitution (1787), 
and was therefore the first to enter the American Union. On that 
roll of honor her name leads all the rest. 



1 See Paragraph 64. 2 New Amsterdam, or New York City. 3 See Paragraph 64. 



CAROLINA. 



Ill 



115. Summary. — This colpny, settled by the Swedes as New 
Sweden, was taken by the Dutch, and then by the Enghsh, who 
sold it to William Penn. He governed it as part of Pennsylvania. 
When it became independent it took the name Delaware. After 
the Revolution it was the first state to adopt the Constitution of 
the United States. 

X.-XI. North and South Carolina (1663). 

116. Grant of Carolina; First Settlements. — In 1663 
Charles 11. of England granted an immense tract of land south 

of Virginia to a com- 
pany composed of 
Lord Clarendon and 
seven associates.^ 
Out of compliment 
to the king the terri- 
tory was called Caro- 
lina.^ On the coast 
it embraced the en- 
tire region now in- 
cluaed in the states 
of North and South 
Carolina, Georgia, 
and a part of Florida; 
westward it extended 
to the Pacific.^ 




SCALE OF MILES 
iO 100 



1 The Company consisted of i. The Earl of Clarendon, Lord High Chancellor 
of England; 2. General Monk, Duke of Albemarle; 3. Ashley Cooper, Lord 
Shaftesbury ; 4. Lord Craven ; 5. Sir John Colleton ; 6. Sir George Carteret ; 7. 
Lord Berkeley ; 8. Sir William Berkeley, governor of Virginia. Albemarle Sound, 
North Carolina, and the Ashley and Cooper Rivers in South Carolina, derive their 
names from those of two of the persons above mentioned. 

2 Carolina : the name was originally given to the country by Charles IX. oi 
France at the time of the attempted French settlements, and was retained out ot 
honor to the English king Charles IL The name was derived from Carolus, Latin 
for Charles. It was customary for kings to employ the Latin form for their names. 

^ By his first grant (1663) Charles gave all the territory lying between the St. 



112 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

At the time of the making of the grant there were a few 
planters and farmers in the northern part of CaroHna. They had 
moved in from Virginia, and taken land on the Chowan River 
and the coast of Albemarle Sound near it. By direction of the 
Company these settlers were formed into a colony (1663) called 
Albemarle. Shortly after (1664) a second colony, named Claren- 
don, in honor of Lord Clarendon, was organized on Cape Fear 
River, some twenty or thirty miles from its mouth. The colonists 
were English planters from the West Indies. 

117. Settlement of Charleston; the Huguenots. — The 

first settlement direct from England was made in 1670 when two 
ship-loads of emigrants sent by the Company landed in the 
southern part of Carolina, on the western bank of the Ashley 
River,^ a short distance from the sea. 

Ten years later (1680) the colonists moved across to the 
peninsula between the Ashley and Cooper ^ Rivers, and there laid 
the foundations of the city of Charleston.^ 

From the outset the Company granted religious liberty to all 
colonists. One of the results of that wise policy was that many 
Huguenots * or French Protestants fled to Carolina to escape the 
terrible persecution to which they were subject in their native 
land.' No better class of emigrants could have been desired. 
They represented not only the best bone and sinew, but the best 



John's River, Florida, and a point on the coast just south of the present boundary 
of Virginia. In 1665 the king extended the grant one degree farther south, and 
half a degree farther north, or from 30° to 36° 30' north latitude. This would make 
the original territory of Carolina reach from Virginia almost to St. Augustine, 
Florida. 

1 Ashley: see note i to Paragraph 116, 

2 Cooper: see note i to Paragraph 116, 

8 The first settlement was called Charles Town, in honor of King Charles II. 
After the colonists had moved across to the peninsula they still retained the name, 
but in time it became shortened to Charleston. 

^ Huguenots : see Paragraph 23. 

5 On the persecution of the Huguenots by Louis XIV., see " The Leading Facts 
of French History," in this series. 



THE "GRAND MODEL. II3 

intellect and conscience of France. They brought with them thai 
power and influence which spring not from rank or money, but 
from character. 

A hundred years later two of the descendants of those South 
Carolina Huguenots — Henry Laurens, the statesman,^ and General 
Marion,^ the noble Revolutionary leader — won imperishable re 
nown by their services in the cause of American liberty. 

118. The ** Grand Model"; Division of the Territory into 
North and South Carolina. — Meantime (1670) the eminent 
Enghsh philosopher, John Locke, and Lord Shaftesbury, one of the 
prominent members of the Company, had drafted a constitution 
for Carolina. Its authors and their friends believed it to be the 
most perfect work of the kind ever produced by the human mind. 
It was called the " Grand Model," and the members of the 
Company declared when they signed it, that it would remain " the 
sacred and unalterable form and rule of government forever." 

The " Grand Model " established a nobility who practically 
held all power. It also set up courts of justice intended to regu- 
late everything from the gravest questions of law down to the 
cut of a man's coat, or the trimming of a woman's bonnet. 

But there was one omission in this model constitution : it gave 
the common people — the very class that had begun to settle 
Carolina — no rights. They were not permitted to vote j they 
were not to hold landed property; nay, more, they were not 
even at liberty to leave the soil they tilled, without permission 
from the nobleman who owned it. When a wealthy planter 
bought a tract of land in Carolina it was expected that he would 
purchase the white settlers on it — they, like the trees and the 
stones, were considered to be part of the estate. 

1 Henry Laurens : he was the fourth president of the Continental Congress 
(1777), and was one of the commissioners sent to Paris to sign the Treaty of 
Peace with Great Britain at the close of the Revolution. 

2 General Marion : he was one of the heroes of the War of Independence. His 
epitaph declares with entire truth that he " lived without fear, and died without 
reproach." 



114 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

But the inhabitants of the terntory decidedly objected to the 
" Grand Model." They were resolved to own themselves, to own 
the labor of their hands, to own all the land they could honestly 
buy, and lastly, to make their own laws. After twenty years of 
contest they succeeded ; and the boasted constitution, that was 
to last " forever,'* was given up : it had never really been in opera- 
tion at all. In 1712 the province was divided into North and 
South Carolina,^ and from that tmie until the Declaration of 
Independence (1776) each was subject to a governor appointed 
by the king. 

-f- 119. Growth of the Two Colonies; Introduction of Rice 
and Indigo Culture ; Charleston. — The growth of North Caro- 
lina was very slow. Quite a number of industrious and liberty- 
loving Scotch, Irish, and Swiss emigrated to the province ; but the 
population was scattered, and the manufacture of pitch, tar, and 
turpentine, which was the principal occupation, did not tend to 
build up large towns. 

In South Carolina, Charleston made little progress for the first 
fifteen or twenty years. Up to that tmie there was no great lead- 
ing industry, and but Httle commerce. In 1693 ^^ event occurred 
which produced a decided change. That year the captain of a 
vessel from Madagascar gave the governor of the colony a small 
bag of rice to plant, as an experiment. The grain grew luxuriantly, 
and the governor distributed the crop among the farmers in the 
vicinity of Charleston. They began its culture, and soon the few 
pounds of seed had multiplied to thousands ; the thousands 
gradually increased to millions, and in time South Carolina be- 
came, what it still continues to be, the largest rice-producing and 
rice-exporting state in the Union. 

The next great source of wealth was the introduction and cul- 
tivation of the indigo plant. About half a century (1741) after 
the first rice had been sown, the daughter of Governor Lucas ^ 



1 Some authorities make the date of division 1729. 

^ Governor Lucas : governor in the West Indies; his home was in Carolina. 



SUMMARY. 115 

planted a little indigo on her father's plantation near Charles- 
ton. The frost killed it, so that it never came up. She planted 
again. The seed came up, but worms destroyed the plants. Not 
to be discouraged, she tried the experiment a third time, and 
was successful.^ To the colonists the news of her crop — small as 
it was — was like the report of the discovery of a gold mine. 
Indigo then brought in Europe sometimes a dollar and a half a 
pound ; and shortly before the Revolution Charleston exported 
over a million pounds in a single year.^ Later, cotton ^ was found 
to be more profitable than indigo even, and so the culture of that 
plant was given up. 

The result of this lucrative commerce in rice and indigo was 
that the city grew rapidly in population and wealth until it became 
the metropolis of the South. In 1773 Josiah Quincy of Boston 
visited Charleston, and was so impressed with its general appear- 
ance and its commercial activity that he wrote : " In almost every- 
thing it far surpasses all I ever saw, or ever expected to see in 
America."^ 

120. Summary. — CaroHna, which was eventually divided 
into North and South Carolina, was settled by emigrants from 
Virginia, by English and also by Huguenots or French Protestants. 
General Marion of the Revolution was a descendant from a 
Huguenot family. The English Company owning the province 
undertook to govern it by a constitution called the ''Grand Model," 
but the people refused to accept it and insisted on governing 
themselves. North Carolina engaged in the manufacture of tar, 
pitch, and turpentine ; South Carolina began the culture of rice 
and indigo, both of which proved enormously profitable. At the 
time of the Revolution Charleston was one of the chief cities of 
America. 

1 Indigo is largely used for dyeing cloths blue. 

2 Cotton did not become profitable until Whitney invented the cotton-gin in 
1793. Its culture will be considered whin that period is reached. 

3 Josiah Quincy, Jr's Journal, 1773. 



Il6 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

XII. Pennsylvania (i68i). 

121. Grant of Pennsylvania to William Penn ; the ** Holy 
Experiment.** — Charles II. owed William Penn, the most influ- 
ential of the English Friends, or Quakers,^ a large sum of money. 
As that good-natured but extravagant monarch always contracted 
as many debts as possible and paid as few, Penn suggested to his 
majesty that he might easily settle his claim by granting him a 
tract of land in America. The proposition pleased the king, and 
he gave Penn a territory of forty-eight thousand square miles 
fronting on the Delaware River. Charles named this vast region, 
which was nearly as large as the whole of England,^ Pennsylvania,^ 
or Penn's Woods. 

In those woods the proprietor resolved to begin what he called 

his " Holy Experiment." That experiment consisted in estabhsh- 

ing a " free colony," or Christian community, on the basis of that 

Golden Rule which commands us to do unto others as we wish 

them to do unto us. The Quaker founder thought that even the 

North American savages could understand that principle, and 

would let the people who practised it grow up in peace. The 

king suggested that the savages would be more likely to respect a 

well-armed regiment of soldiers ; but Penn had no faith in the 

virtues of gunpowder, and would not send so much as a single 

musket to protect his colony. 
*«* 

122. Emigration to Pennsylvania ; Philadelphia ; Land- 
ing at Newcastle. — The first emigrants were sent out under the 
charge of Penn's commissioners in 1681. They appear to have 
spent the winter on the western bank of the Delaware at a Swedish 
settlement which was subsequently named Chester. The following 
year (1682) Penn himself sailed with a company of a hundred 
English Quakers, to found the city of Philadelphia, or Brotherly 

1 Friends, or Quakers : see Paragraph 85. 

2 The area of England, not includin^*Wales, is about 50,000 square miles. 
s Pennsylvania : from Penn, and the Latin word sylva, a wood. 



THE 



''GREAT LAW." 



117 




Love. The location had already been selected by Penn's com- 
missioners, in accordance with instructions which he had given 

them. The city was planned by its 
founder before he left England. It is 
said chat not even a thousand dollars 
have since had to be spent in straight- 
ening or widening streets, — that work 
having been done once for all in Penn's 
orderly brain before the first house was 
built in 1683. 

Penn landed at Newcastle, in what is 
now Delaware. That territory he had 
purchased of the Duke of York,^ so that 
it then formed part of Pennsylvania. 
The whole population of the region 
gathered to welcome him and to witness the interesting ceremony 
of his taking possession of his vast estate. First, a piece of 
turf was handed to Penn — that meant that he owned the land 
and all that grew on it ; next, a dish filled from the Delaware 
River was given to him — that signified that he owned the water ; 
finally, the key of the fort was solemnly presented to him — that 
act completed the transfer, for it acknowledged his right to hold 
both land and water by military force. 

123. The ** Great Law.** — Less than two months after that, 
Penn called an assembly at Chester, and he with the people enacted 
the " Great Law." 

That constitution had a twofold foundation — liberty of the 
people to make their own laws, and obedience to the laws they 
had made ; for, said Penn, " Liberty without obedience is con- 
fusion, and obedience without liberty is slavery." 

By the "Great Law" it was provided: i. That all colonists 
should be protected in their worship of God, but that no one 



- See Paragraph 114. 



Il8 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

should be compelled to support or attend any form of worship 
against his will.^ 2. That all resident tax-payers should have the 
right to vote, and that every member of any Christian church 
might hold office and become a member of the legislative as- 
sembly.^ 3. That every child, after reaching the age of twelve, 
should be brought up to some trade or useful occupation. 
4. That the death penalty should be inflicted for two crimes^ 
only, — murder and treason, * — and, for the first time in the his- 
tory of the world, it was further ordered that every prison should 
be made a workshop and a place of reformation.^ 

124. The Great Treaty ; Growth and Importance of Phila- 
delphia. — Penn's next act (1682) ^ was a treaty with the Indians. 
According to tradition he met the Red Men under the branches 
of a wide-spreading elm in what was then the vicinity of Phila- 
delphia.^ There solemn promises of mutual friendship were made. 
In accordance, however, with the principles of the Quaker faith, 
no oaths were taken. Each trusted to the other's simple word. 



1 No person believing in God and living peaceably and justly " shall in any wise 
be molested." The Great Law, Section i, Hazard's "Annals of Pennsylvania." 

2 This is according to Section 65 of The Great Law ; but Section 2 of the same 
would appear to limit the right to elect members to the assembly to "such as 
profess and declare they believe in Jesus Christ." 

3 On the number of crimes then punishable with death in England, see note i 
on page 99. 

4 Treason : that is, an open and deliberate attempt to overturn the government 
by force of arms. 

5 The prisons of Europe at that time were dens of idleness and disorder. In- 
stead of reforming the criminal they often taught him new crimes, so that he usually 
came out of his place of confinement actually worse than he entered it. 

6 Some authorities fix the date at 1683, and consider the treaty to have covered 
the purchase of lands, 

" The treaty was made at Kensington, in the northeastern part of the city. The 
Treaty Elm was blown down in 18 10. So great was the regard for the old tree 
that during the Revolution, when the British forces occupied Philadelphia, General 
Simcoe, their commander, stationed a sentinel under it to prevent his soldiers from 
cutting it down for firewood. The monument marking the spot where it stood is 
on the west side of Beach Street, north of Columbia Street, Kensington. 



THE GREAT TREATY. 



119 



That treaty was "never broken,"^ and for sixty years, or as long 
as the Quakers held control, the people of Pennsylvania lived 
at peace with the natives. 
The tree under which that 
memorable transaction took 
place no longer stands, but 
its site is marked by a mon- 
ument. The Indian record 
of the treaty — a belt of wam- 
pum representing Penn ^ 
and the chief clasping hands 
— is still preserved.^ 

Philadelphia grew rap- 
idly, and at the beginning 
of the Revolution it was 
the largest and in every 
respect the most important 

city in the American colonies. Its history is closely connected 
with many decisive events m the early history of the country. 

There the first Continental Congress met (1774), there indepen- 
dence was declared (1776), there too the present Constitution of 
the United States was framed (1787), and there the seat of govern- 




^ Voltaire, the French historian, said that it was " the only treaty which was never 
sworn to, and never broken ; " but this was true, too, of Carver's treaty, see p. 79. 

2 William Penn set sail for England, Aug. 12, 1684, having spent not quite two 
years in Pennsylvania. He visited the colony again in 1699, and returned to Eng- 
land in 1701, where he spent the remaining seventeen years of his life. His outlay in 
Pennsylvania had involved him heavily in debt, and in 1709 he was obliged to 
mortgage his province for ^6600. Other misfortunes fell upon him, and at one 
time he was a prisoner for debt in London. He was negotiating a sale of his 
right in Pennsylvania to the English government at the time of his death. His 

• successors were unlike him, and their greedy and unjust policy created constant 
irritation. At the conclusion of the Revolution Congress purchased their rights in 
Pennsylvania for j^65o,ooo. 

3 See Paragraph 37, and picture of the belt. Penn is the right-hand figure. The 
belt is in the possession of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, Philadelphia. See 
their Memoirs, Vol. VI. 



I20 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

ment remained (1790-1800)^ until it was removed to Washing- 
ton, ttien "a backwoods settlement in the wilderness." 

125. Summary. — William Penn fomided the colony of Penn- 
sylvania, which was named from him. He gave the people the 
right to take part in making the laws, and all persons believing in 
God were protected in their religion. He made a treaty of peace 
with the Indians which was sacredly kept. At the opening of the 
Revolution Philadelphia was the chief city of the country, and long 
the seat of government. 

Xni. Georgia (1733). 

126. Oglethorpe^s Project for the Settlement of Georgia ; 
his Two Motives. — In 1732 General James Oglethorpe, a mem- 
ber of the English Parliament, obtained a charter for settling a tract 
of country in America between the Savannah and Altamaha rivers. 

Oglethorpe was a man of high character and of distinguished 
ability. His objects in establishing a new colony were both 
patriotic and benevolent. South Carolina was exposed to attacks 
from the Spaniards in Florida, and it was desirable to have a body 
of men so placed that they might repel such attacks. The pro- 
posed colony would serve therefore as a barrier against the enemies 
of Charleston on the south. That was the first object. The 
second was one of pure benevolence. Thousands of poor debtors 
were then confined in the prisons of England. Many of them 
were honest, hard-working men, who through sickness or misfor- 
tune had contracted some trifling debt, — ^t might be no more 
than a single shilling even, — and not being able to pay had been 
cast into prison. There their condition was most pitiful. They 
could earn nothing, and unless their friends supported them they 
were actually in danger of starvation, some of them having to 



1 Philadelphia was virtually the capital of the country after independence was 
declared, although Congress did not always meet there. Pennsylvania attracted a 
large emigration ; and in 1776 about half the population were English, one-third 
Germans, and the rest Irish and Swedes. 



SETTLEMENT OF SAVANNAH. 121 

subsist by begging in an iron cage from the passers-by. The 
jailors often treated these poor creatures with revolting cruelty, 
and never failed to extort fees and fines from them on every 
possible occasion. Cases occurred in which men were kept in 
confinement for years after their creditors had withdrawn all claims 
against them, simply because they could not raise money to pay* 
the jail fees, which sometimes amounted to much more than the 
original debt. 

Oglethorpe had spent a good deal of time in visiting and in- 
vestigating these prisons in London ; his heart was touched by the 
misery he saw, — the misery of those who had committed no crime, 
— and he resolved to help them. His scheme was to select the 
most deserving of the prisoners, to discharge their debts, to fur- 
nish them transportation, with their wives and families, to America, 
and thus give them, what England could not — a chance to begin 
life anew. • 

Such a charity was as honorable as it promised to be useful. 
The English government subscribed a large sum toward it, and 
private individuals increased the fund until it reached what would 
be equal to half a million of dollars to-day.^ 

127. The Settlement at Savannah; Silk Culture. — An 

association of twenty-two persons was formed with Oglethorpe as 
leader Out of compliment to King George 11. , who favored the 
undertaking, the new colony was called Georgia. The first emi- 
grants sent out settled under Oglethorpe on the Savannah River 
from which they named the town Savannah (1733). 

Later, German Protestants ^ who were persecuted in their own 
country on account of their religion, and sturdy Scottish peasants 
from the Highlands,^ made settlements in Georgia. 

1 The House of Commons gave ^10,000, and private subscription ^26,000; or 
in all ;^36,ooo, equal, probably, to not less than ^500,000 now, 

2 Moravians and Lutherans : The Moravians were from Austria ; in several 
respects they resembled the Quakers. 

S They settled at Darien, on the coast, south of Savannah. 



122 



LEADING FACTS OP AMERICAN HISTORY. 



It was hoped that wine could be produced on a great scale, so 
as to rival Madeira itself. Mulberry-trees grew wild in the terri- 
tory, and it was ex- 
pected that silk could 
be raised in large 
quantities. The first 
seal of the- colony 
represented the silk- 
worms at their work, 
with the words, "Not 
for themselves, but 
for others." ^ Such 
a seal not only ex- 
pressed the industry 
of the inhabitants, 
but its motto told 
the story of the un- 
selfish purposes of 
the founders. The silk culture, however, never went very far, 
cotton being found in the end far more profitable. 

128. Restrictions on the Colony. — From the outset, how- 
ever, the enterprise was hampered by certain regulations that 
caused discontent and tended to prevent the rapid growth of the 
province. The first of these was the provision that for twenty-one 
years all laws should be made by the Association. This kept the 
people like children, and made that best of all educations — ■ the 
education of self-government — impossible. The next forbade 
that land should descend to women — the object being to keep it 
in the hands of those v/ho could do military service. The third 
regulation prohibited the importation of rum or spirituous liquors, 
thus cutting off the Georgians from commerce with the West 
Indies, which was the most lucrative trade they could then hope 




1 The motto was in Latin, — " Non sibtsed aliis." ■ 



THE WESLEYS. 123 

to obtain. Fourthly, the importation of slaves was denied to the 
settlers, and they therefore could not compete agriculturally with 
the other colonies, all of which had them. Lastly, entire religious 
Hberty was not allowed, no Roman Catholic being permitted to 
settle or hold land in tjie colony. 

129. The Wesleys; Whitefield; The Restrictions re- 
moved; The Spaniards; Resources of Georgia. — John and 
Charles Wesley, the two distinguished brothers who founded 
Methodism, were both interested in Oglethorpe's project, and 
went out with him on his second voyage,^ the first for the purpose 
of doing missionary work among the Indians. Later, another 
noted preacher of that denomination, the Rev. George Whitefield,^ 
established an orphan asylum near Savannah. In strong contrast 
to John Wesley, he conscientiously believed in slave-labor, and 
partly supported his asylum from the produce of his plantation in 
the adjoining colony of South Carolina. Through his persistent 
efforts, joined to those of others, the purchase of negroes was at 
last (1750) allowed; the prohibition on the importation of rum 
from the West Indies was also removed, the land laws changed for 
the better, and Georgia soon had a flourishing commerce, and 
could hold her own with the Carolinas. 

With respect to checking the attacks of the Spaniards the colony 
was highly successful. Oglethorpe defeated an expedition sent to 
conquer and drive out the settlers, and did the work so thoroughly 
that the enemy had no desire to make his further acquaintance.^ 

In 1752 Georgia became a royal province, and was governed 
by the crown until the Revolution. No colony planted by the 
Enghsh possesses greater natural resources or natural wealth — in 
cotton, coal, and iron — than the territory that was first settled by 
that philanthropist who sought the prosperity of all. If he could 



1 Oglethorpe went back to England in 1743. He was a member of Parliament 
for many years, and died in 1785. 2 Whitefield (Whit'field). 

3 The defeat of the Spaniards had the effect of extending the southern boundary 
of Georgia to the St. John's River, Florida. In 1763 it was fixed at the present line. 



124 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

see what Georgia has become, and better still, see its probable 
future, he would feel that he could not have chosen more wisely. 

130. Summary. — Georgia, the last of the thirteen colonies, 
and one of the richest in its natural advantages, was settled by 
English emigrants brought over by General Oglethorpe, as a work 
of charity. One chief object of the colony was the raising of silk. 
That, however, was unsuccessful. In the outset the settlers had 
no power of self-government, and the land laws caused much dis- 
content. Slavery and the importation of spirituous liquors were 
forbidden, but later, both were allowed, the people got the man- 
agement of the colony, in considerable measure, and Georgia 
opened a large trade with the West Indies. 

The French Explor'^tion of the West. 

131. French Exploration of the Great Lakes and the 
Mississippi Valley ; the Jesuit Missionaries. — But while 
the English colonists had been getting firm possession of the 
coast from Maine to Geoigia, the French in Canada^ had not been 
sitting still. In fact, it was they, and not Jthe English, who were 
the explorers of the West. Among the first Europeans who dared 
to push their way into the wilderness were Jesuit missionaries,^ 
who had come here to convert the Indians. In their zeal for this 
work they braved all dangers — enduring hunger, cold, and torture 
without a murmur. Long before William Penn's emigrants had 
felled the first tree for the first log cabin in Philadelphia, the 
Jesuits had reached the western shore of Lake Michigan (1669),^ 



1 See Paragraph 50. 

2 Jesuit missionaries : missionaries belonging to the Roman CathoUc order of 
the Jesuits, or " Company of Jesus." The order was founded in 1540, for the 
double purpose of checking the spread of Protestantism, and of carrying the Catho- 
lic faith to the heathen. The French Jesuits accomplished a great work among 
the Indians of Canada and the West, but made but little impression on the fero- 
cious Iroquois, who captured several of the missionaries and put them to death 
with horrible tortures. Before the Jesuits came, a Catholic friar had founded a 
mission on Lake Huron in 1615. 

3 Dates so enclosed neal fiof he conuiiHicd to memory. 



JOLIET AND MARQUETTE. 1 25 

and had planted missions among the Indians at Mackinaw, Sault 
Ste. Marie, and Green Bay.^ 

132. Joliet and Marquette on the Mississippi. — A few 

years later (1673) Johet/ a famous French explorer and fur- 
trader, and Father Marquette, a Jesuit priest, set out from Macki- 
naw to find a great river which the Indians told them lay west of 
Lake Michigan. Making their way in birch-bark canoes ^ to the 
head of Green Bay, they paddled up the Fox River to a place 
which they called Portage,^ — now Portage City, — then carrying 
their canoes across, a distance of less than two miles, they em- 
barked on the Wisconsin River. Borne by the. current, they 
dropped down the Wisconsin until, on a beautiful day in June, 
they floated out on the broad, shining bosom of the upper Missis- 
sippi. The sight of it was enough : they knew that they had 
found that mighty stream which the Indians called the " Father of 
Waters" — at the point where the voyagers reached it, it is- full 
two miles from bank to bank. Turning their canoes southward, 
they let the river bear them where it would. Day after day they 
kept on their silent journey ; now gliding by castle-shaped cliffs, 
now coming into the sunlight of open prairies, now entering the 
long shadow cast by miles of unbroken forest. Thus they drifted 
on, past the muddy torrent of the Missouri, past the mouth of the 
beautiful Ohio. In about three weeks the explorers came to the 
spot where De Soto ^ had crossed the river more than a hundred 
years before ; then pushing on, they reached the mouth of the 

1 Mackinaw, Michigan, at the northwestern extremity of Lake Huron. Here is 
Fort Mackinaw. Sault Ste. Marie (usually pronounced Soo Sent Ma'ry), on the 
river of that name, about fourteen miles from the outlet of Lake Superior. Green 
Bay, Wisconsin, on western shore of Lake Michigan. See Map, page 126. 

2 Joliet (pronounced in the United States, Jo'le-et) : Marquette (Mar-ket') : 
both names frequently occur in the West, especially in Michigan, Wisconsin, and 
Illinois, where counties, cities, and towns have been named for the French ex- 
plorers. 3 See Paragraph 36. 

4 Portage : a French word, meaning a carrying-place, because at such points 
canoes or goods were carried across from one stream to another. See Map, page 
126. 5 See Paragraph 22, page 29. 



126 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Arkansas. There the Frenchmen stopped and feasted with friendly 
Indians. The Indians warned them not to go further south, teUing 
them that the tribes below were hostile to strangers. Joliet and 
Marquette took their advice, and after resting for some time with 
the hospitable red men, they got into their canoes and patiently 
paddled their way back.^ It was a tremendous piece of up-hill 
work, that battling for hundreds of miles against the powerful 
current, but they felt fully repaid for the labor. They had not 
followed the Mississippi to the Gulf, as they intended ; but who 
will say that they had not made a good beginning? 

133. La Salle reaches the Mouth of the Mississippi. — 

Six years later (1679) La Salle,- the greatest of the French ex- 
plorers, a man of active brain and iron will, set out from Montreal 
to complete the work of Joliet and Marquette. He had already 
explored a good part of the Ohio, and he now started with high 
hopes on this still more important expedition. On the shore of Lake 
Erie, not far above Niagara, he built the first sailing-vessel ever 
launched on the upper Great Lakes. In her he sailed to Green Bay, 
then, sending the vessel back for supplies. La Salle and his com- 
panions went in canoes to the St. Joseph River,^ near the south- 
eastern corner of Lake Michigan. There they built a fort ; then, 
crossing over to the head waters of the Kankakee, a tributary of 
the Illinois, they descended that river to the point where Peoria 
now stands. There they built a second fort.* Leaving a small 
garrison to hold this position. La Salle, though it was in the 
depth of winter, went back on foot to Canada ^ — a journey of a 
thousand miles — to get the supplies which had failed to reach 



1 They worked their way up the river to the IHinois, then up that river and 
across to Lake Michigan. 2 La Salle (Lah Sal'). 

3 La Salle paddled from Green Bay, along the shore, round to the St. Joseph 
River, Michigan. 

4 La Salle called the second fort Crevecoeur, the Broken Heart, a name gener- 
ally supposed to refer to his misfortunes there. 

5 He went back to Fort Frontenac (now Kingston), on the Canada shore oi 
Lake Ontario. 




MAP SHOWING THE THIRTEEN ENGLISH COLONIES AND THE FRENCH 
EXPLORATIONS AND SETTLEMENTS IN THE WEST, 



> 



THE FOUNDING OF NEW ORLEANS. 



127 



him, and which he needed for the exploration of the Mississippi. 
While he was gone, Father Hennepin, a Jesuit priest in La Salle's 
expedition, set out from the fort to explore the country. He had 
many startling adventures, but finally reached a cataract on the 
upper Mississippi, which he named the Falls of St. /Vnthony. 

The next year (1681) La Salle returned to Illinois, only to find 
his fort deserted and in ruins. But the brave Frenchman knew 
no such word as fail. In the autumn he set out on his great 
expedition for the third time. Landing at the head of Lake 
Michigan, where Chicago^ now stands, he crossed over to the 
Illinois and, going down that river, entered the Mississippi in 
February (1682). The weather was "bitter cold," and the river 
full of floating ice ; La Salle did 
not hesitate, but started with his 
company on his perilous voyage. 
Nine weeks later — having stopped 
on his way to build a fort — he 
reached the sunny waters of the Gulf 
of Mexico. There he set up a rude 
wooden cross on which he fastened 
a metal plate bearing the arms of 
France." Then with volleys of mus- 
ketry and loud shouts of " God save 
the King !" La Salle took possession 
of the entire vast territory watered 
by the Mississippi and its tributaries. 
To that region of unknown extent 
— twice as large as France, Spain, 
and Germany united — he gave the name of Louisiana, in honor 
of Louis XIV., then the reigning sovereign of France. 




at the Mouth of the Mississippi. 



134. The Founding of Mobile and New Orleans. — Many 

1 Chicago : herelhe French built a fort, or fortified trading-post, a few years later. 

2 Arms of France : a shield decorated with representations of the heads of lilies, 
(here resembling small crosses). The latest French life of La Salle says he fas- 
tened the arms of France to a post, and erected a cross beside it. 



128 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

years later John Law, an enterprising Scotchman, got permission 
from France to establish a colony in Louisiana. The country was 
believed to possess mines of precious metals rich as those of 
Mexico or Peru. Law promised to open these mines,^ and every 
needy and greedy Frenchman who could muster a few dollars 
bought the right to take part in the speculation. It failed, and 
made thousands beggars. Still the undertaking had some per- 
manent results for good. A Frenchman named Iberville^ had 
established a colony at Mobile,^ on the Gulf of Mexico (1701). 
His brother, Bienville,* was appointed governor of Louisiana. It 
was hoped that he would send shiploads of gold to France. He 
sent nothing of the sort, but did far better ; for he founded the 
city of New Orleans (1718).^ The settlement was merely a clus- 
ter of huts round a fort ; but in time it was destined to become 
the commercial metropolis of the richest agricultural valley in the 
world, — a valley capable of producing food enough to feed all 
the civilized races of the globe. 

Meanwhile what had the English colonists in the East done 
toward exploring and occupying the country? Practically noth- 
ing. They simply continued to hold their first settlement on the 
Atlantic coast : in other words, the mere rim or edge of what is 
now the United States. The long range of the Alleghany Moun- 
tains, rising like an immense wall, had prevented their spreading 
further. France, on the other hand, had, as we have seen, got 
possession of the interior ; by her claim to the Mississippi and its 
tributaries she held the great West, extending from the Alleghanies 
to the Rocky Mountains. What France held she intended to keep ; 
that was what the forts meant that La Salle had built at so many 
points of his explorations from the Lakes to the Gulf. 



1 On John Law and the Mississippi Company, see " The Leading Facts of French 
Histon-," in this series. 2 Iberville (E-l er-veel'). 

3 Mobile : the name is Indian. ■* Bienville (Be-an-veel'). 

5 New Orleans : Bienville named the city from the Duke of Orleans, who was 
then, during the minority of Louis XV., at the head of the government of France. 
The word New seems to have been given to distinguish Orleans in America from 
Orleans in France. 



war with the french. 1 29 

The French and Indian Wars. 

135. War with the French; Attacks on Schenectady, 
Haverhill, and Deerfield; the French lose Acadia. — In 

Europe, the French and the EngUsh had long been enemies. The 
desire of each to get possession of America did not make them 
any better friends. In 1689 war broke out between the rival colo- 
nists. With intervals of peace that contest * extended over seventy 
years (1689-1763). In Europe the same war was fought between 
England and France, and it lasted even longer. The struggle in 
this country is usually represented as four distinct wars, but in 
reality it was but one ; though, here, the combatants made one 
long stop of thirty years to get breath. 

In the first war ^ which lasted eight years (1689-169 7), Fron- 
tenac, the French governor of Canada, sent an expedition of 
French and Indians to attack the colonies on and near the 
Hudson. They secretly marched from Montreal in mid-winter, 
and falling on the little village of Schenectady, New York,^ at 
midnight, they burned it and massacred most of the inhabitants. 
In a similar attack on Haverhill,* Massachusetts, the savages met 
their match. A small party of Indians carried off Mrs. Hannah 
Dustin captive. She got possession of some tomahawks, and with 
the help of another woman and a boy, also prisoners, she split the 
heads of the sleeping Indians, and carried home their scalps, ten 
in all, in triumph. A regiment of such women would have soon 
made both French and Indians beg for peace. During this war, 
an expedition from Boston, led by Sir William Phips of Maine, 
captured the French fort at Port Royal, Acadia,^ but it was re- 
turned to the French the next year (1691). 

1 This war and those that follow were simply the American side of a hundred 
years' struggle waged in Europe and Asia, between the English and the French for 
the possession of India and of the continent of America. See Seeley's " Expan- 
sion of England," Lecture II. 

2 " King William's War," so called because King William reigned in England. 

3 Schenectady (Ske-nek'ta-dy) : 17 miles west of Albany. See Map, page i6g. 

4 Haverhill : thirty-three miles north of Boston. Both Schenectady and Haver- 
hill were then, in a sense, frontier towns. See Map, page 154. 

5 Acadia : now Nova Scotia. See Map, page 130. 



I30 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



In the second war,* which lasted eleven years (i 702-1 713), a 
party of French and Indians attacked Deerfield, Massachusetts,^ 
and reduced the place to ashes. On the other hand, the New 
England colonists recaptured Port Royal, which they named An- 
napolis, in honor of Queen Anne, then reigning in England. They 
also undertook an expedition against Quebec, which ended in 
shipwreck and terrible loss of life. When peace was made (i 713), 
Great Britain not only kept Annapolis, but got possession of Acadia, 
which the English now named Nova Scotia. 



SCALE 



136. The Third War; Taking of Louisburg. — There was 
a long interval of peace, and then the third war^ broke out. It 

lasted four years ( 1 744- 
1748). During this 
contest, the New Eng- 
land colonists gained a 
remarkable victory. 
France had spent mil- 
lions in fortifying Louis- 
burg, on Cape Breton 
Island, — a position of 
great importance to the 
French, because it stood 
guard at the entrance 
to the Gulf and the River St. Lawrence.* The fort was of im- 
mense extent, and had walls of solid masonry thirty feet high. 
This stronghold, which the French believed could not be taken. 
Colonel PepperrelH of Maine, with a force of a few thousand 
Yankee farmers and fishermen, set out to capture. The expedi- 




^ Known as " Queen Anne's War," from Queen Anne of England. 

2 Deerfield : in Northwestern Massachusetts, near the Connecticut River. 

3 Called " King George's War," from George II., then on the throne of Eng- 
land. 

4 France needed the fortified harbor of Louisburg as a shelter for her vessels, as 
a protection to her commerce and fisheries, and for maintaining free communica* 
tion with Canada. 5 Usually, but incorrectly, spelled Pepperell. 



TAKING OF LOUISBURG. I3I 

tion seemed so foolhardy that even Benjamin Frankhn ^ ridiculed it. 
Though himself a native of New England, and full of faith in New- 
England grit, he wrote to his brother that Louisburg was far too 
hard a nut for their teeth to crack. But, with the help of a British 
fleet, Pepperrell and his men, after six weeks' fighting, did crack it, 
and Boston fairly went wild over the great news.^ The victory had 
two important results : i . It broke up the nest of French pirated 
at Louisburg, and so put an end to their capturing and plundering 
Massachusetts fishing-vessels. 2. It inspired the New England 
people with the faith that they could not only beat the French, but 
beat them when entrenched behind granite walls. At the end of 
the war England gave Louisburg back ; but one thing Great Britain 
could not do, — she could not give back the confidence the French 
once had in the famous fortress. The " Yankees " had taken it ; 
and what men have done, they can do again. 

137. The Fourth, or French and Indian, War; the Great 
Line of French Forts. — In 1 754-1 763 came the fourth and 
final struggle, known as the " French and Indian War." It was 
to decide a greater question than any that had yet been fought 
for ; that is, whether the French or the English should control the 
continent of America. The English outnumbered the French fif- 
teen to one ; but the French had got possession of the two chief 



1 Benjamin Franklin : born in Boston, 1706 ; died in Philadelphia, full of years 
and honors, in 1790. He was the son of a soap-boiler and candle-maker. He 
learned the printer's trade and went to Philadelphia, where, in 1729, he became 
editor and proprietor of the Pennsylvania Gazette. Later he entered public life, 
went abroad as agent of the colonies, and rendered the whole country his debtor 
by his eminent services in the cause of American independence. The succeeding 
pages of this history will show that his name deservedly ranks with that of Wash- 
ington as one of the founders of the United States. For a full account of his life, 
see Ginn & Co.'s " Benjamin Franklin," 

2 Notwithstanding the bravery of Pepperrell and his gallant little force, it is not 
likely that they, even with the help of the British fleet, could have taken Louisburg 
had that fort possessed an efBcient garrison and a competent commander. It had 
neither, and hence it fell. England was astonished, and the kiftg was so delighted 
that he made the American commander a baronet, — Sir William Pepperrell. He 
was the first native of New England who received that honor ; though William Phips 
(see p. 129) had been knighted more than fifty years before. 



132 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

rivers of the country, — the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi. 
To clinch their hold they built fort after fort, until by this date 
they had a line of sixty, extending from Quebec to the Great 
Lakes, and thence down the Illinois and the Mississippi to the 
Gulf.* Where many of those and succeeding forts stood, flourish- 
ing cities have since risen which still keep the old French 01 
Indian names of Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis,^ Natchez, New 
Orleans. That shows the forethought of the French explorers. 
When they selected a spot to fortify, they seem to have thought 
not only of its military strength, but also of the possibilities of its 
growth as a centre of business and commerce. 

138. The Ohio Company ; Governor Dinwiddle's Messen- 
ger. — But at last, after all the important points had passed into 
the hands of the French, the English began to open their eyes 
to the danger which threatened them. They saw that unless they 
bestirred themselves, and moved into the rich territory west of the 
Alleghanies, they would lose the heart of the continent. To pre- 
vent such a disaster a wealthy London merchant, with certain 
influential Virginians, organized the Ohio Company for planting 
a colony of emigrants on the east bank of the upper Ohio.^ The 
French at once resolved to stop the movement, and began a new 
line of forts, extending southward from Erie on Lake Erie to the 
point where the Alleghany and the Monongahela rivers unite to 
form the Ohio. That point at the head of inland navigation was 
with good reason called the " Gateway of the West." Both parties 
knew its importance ; both meant to seize and fortify it. 

Meanwhile Governor Dinwiddle of Virginia determined to send 

1 See Map, page 126. 

2 There were two forts named St. Louis ; that marking the site of the modern 
city of St. Louis was buiit by French emigrants after the war (1764), on territory 
then belonging to Spain. 

8 The Ohio Company, whose chief manager, Lawrence Washington, died in the 
summer of 1752, received a grant of 500,000 acres on the east bank of the Ohio, 
between the Great Kanawha and the Monongahela rivers. The region is now em- 
braced bv West Virginia and Southwest Pennsylvania. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 1 33 

a messenger to Venango, — one of the new line of French forts, 
— and warn off those whom he considered intruders.* Whoever 
undertook such a journey must travel at least three hundred miles 
on foot, climb a succession of mountain ranges, cross rivers, as best 
he could, and risk his life among hostile Indians. 

The governor, after due deliberation, finally decided to entrust 
this difficult and dangerous work to the brother of the late chief 
manager of the Ohio Company, a young man of twenty-one, who 
was a skilful surveyor, knew all about life in the wilderness, and 
did not know what fear meant. The name of that young man may 
still be read on a lofty limestone cliff in Virginia,^ where, when a 
lad, he climbed up higher than any of his companions dared, and 
cut it with his hunting-knife, — GEORGE WASHINGTON.^ 

139. Results of Washington's Journey. — Washington per- 
formed the journey (1753), but the French commander sent back 

1 The English maintained that they had purchased the Ohio Valley region of 
the Iroquois Indians, who declared that they had conquered it many years before. 
There is no evidence that the Iroquois had any right to sell the land. 

2 At Natural Bridge, in the mountains of Western Virginia. The walls rise over 
two hundred feet, and it is exceedingly difficult and dangerous to climb them. 

3 George Washington was born at Bridges Creek, Virginia, on the Potomac, 
about fifty miles south of where Washington now stands. His father, soon after the 
birth of George, removed to an estate on the Rappahannock opposite Fredericks- 
burg. Nothing remains of the old homestead at Bridges Creek; but a stone slab 
marks the site of the house, and bears this inscription : " Here, the nth of Febru- 
ary, 1732, George Washington was born." Difference of reckoning now makes the 
nth the 22d. Washington's great-grandfather, John Washington, emigrated from 
England to Virginia about 1657. It is generally thought that he belonged to one of 
the old Cavalier families that fought in behalf of Charles I. during the English Civil 
War. George Washington received a fair English education, but nothing more. 
He excelled in athletic sports and horsemanship, and was fond of life in the woods. 
He became a skilful surveyor, and found the work highly profitable. By the death 
of Lawrence Washington, an elder brother, George came eventually into possession 
of the estate at Mount Vernon, on the Potomac, a short distance below the pres- 
ent city of Washington. Washington's mission to the French commander at 
Venango first brought him into public notice. In 1759 he married Mrs. Martha 
Custis, a wealthy widow. From this time until his death, in 1799, he will stand 
prominent in this history. For a full account of Washington, see " Washington 
and His Country," Ginn & Co.. 



134 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



an unsatisfactory reply to the governor. The expedition had^ 
however, two important results. In the first place, it may be said 
to have made Washington " a Western man," for the journey seems 
to have impressed him with the immense value and future growth 
of that region. In time he came to hold more lands there than 
any one else in the country ; and throughout his life he used 
his influence in every way to build roads and canals to open up 
and settle the West, or what was then known by that name. In 
the second place, the answer which Washington brought made it 




evident that if the Ohio Company was to hold its own, it must do 
so by force. The Company accordingly began a fort at the 
" Gateway of the West " ; but before they could complete it, the 
French drove them out, finished building it, and named it Fort 
Duquesne ^ in honor of the French governor of Canada. Wash- 
ington then began a small fort, which he called Fort Necessity, 
about forty miles south of Fort Duquesne ; but the French came 
in overwhelming force, and compelled him to surrender it. 



1 Duquesne (Du-kane'). 




WASHINGTON BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 



THE ALBANY CONVENTION. 



I3S 




140. The Albany Convention ; Benjamin Franklin's 
Snake; General Braddock. — Matters now looked so serious 
that a convention of the Northern colonies met at Albany (1754) 
to consider what should be done. The Iroquois Indians, who 
were stanch friends of the English, sent some of their people 
to the convention, and warned the colo- 
nists that if they did not take up arms, 
the French would drive every Englishman 
out of the country. Benjamin Franklin, 
delegate^ from Pennsylvania, headed an 
appeal in his paper, the Pennsylvania Ga- 
zette^ with a rude woodcut, which told its 
own story. It represented the colonies in the form of a snake cut 
in pieces, with the motto, " Unite or die." Franklin furthermore 
proposed an excellent plan for banding the colonies together for 
self-protection, but it was not adopted.^ 

The next year (1755) England sent over General Braddock 
with a body of troops to drive the French out of the Ohio Valley. 
He was a good soldier, but did everything by rule. He and his 
men could fight any enemy that would meet them openly face to 
face ; but he did not know how to fight the French and Indians, 
whose plan was to hide in the forest, and fire from behind trees. 

Braddock might have got useful hints from either Franklin or 
Washington, but he scorned consulting men who had never been 
regularly trained in the European arts of war. 



141 , Braddock's Defeat ; Washington. — He advanced from 
Alexandria, Virginia, across the mountains to attack Fort Du- 
quesne. Washington accompanied him. All went well until the 
British army had nearly reached the fort. Suddenly a savage yell 



1 Delegate : a representative, a person sent to act for others. 

2 Franklin's plan was rejected by the English government as too democratic 
(though the colonists thought it not democratic enough). Even then, the authori- 
ties in England " dreaded American union as the keystone of independence." Part 
of Franklin's plan was for the colonies to send representatives to the English Pariia- 
ment. 



136 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

rose from the woods through which the men were marching, fol- 
lowed by a murderous volley of musket-shots which killed many. 
The English general did everything a brave man could to repel the 
attack, but it was useless. Both he and his army were simply " a 
living target to an unseen foe." A panic set in ; the men ran like 
sheep, and were shot down as they ran. Finally Braddock, who 
was himself mortally wounded, had to order a retreat. A few 
days later he died, and was secretly buried at night. Colonel 
Washington read the funeral service over his grave by torchlight. 

It was said in Virginia that Braddock lost the victory, but that 
Washington's coolness and courage saved the army. It was true ; 
for without Washington's aid the defeat would have become a 
massacre. An eminent Virginia clergyman, who preached on the 
disaster shortly afterward, said of Washington, that he believed that 
" Providence had saved him for some more important service to 
his country." 

142. The Acadians ; Pitt and Victory ; Fort Duquesne ; 
the French driven to Canada. — In the course of the next two 
years the English took the French province of New Brunswick, 
and drove many thousands of Acadians, or French inhabitants of 
Nova Scotia, into exile.^ But up to 1758 the war languished. 
Then a great change took place. William Pitt, later known as 
Lord Chatham, had now become the chief councillor in the Eng- 
lish government. He was a man of immense energy, of spotless 
integrity, and one of the truest friends that America ever had. 
He sent fresh troops to fight for the colonists ; and, what was 
better, he seemed to inspire them with his own spirit. Louisburg 
was now retaken, never to be given back. Then a second ex- 
pedition was sent against Fort Duquesne. Colonel Washington 
took part in it as before. The fort was captured, and named Fort 

1 Longfellow has made this exile of the 7,000 Acadians the subject of his famous 
poem of " Evangeline." Burke called the expulsion " an inhuman act," but recent 
investigation seems to show that the English were justified in driving out the French 
farmers, since they steadfastly refused to take the oath of allegiance to England, 
and meanwhile their sons were secretly fighting against her. 



FALL OF QUEBEC. 



137 




Pitt in honor of the distinguished statesman who had made the 
victory possible. To-day we know the place as Pittsburgh, the 
centre of the most extensive iron works in the United States. 

This victory gave the English the control of the Ohio country. 
Then, by the help of his _^, -r- -^==._^ 

Iroquois "braves," Sir "w^ - ^ ^ 

William Johnson of John- 
son Hall, New York,^ took 
Fort Niagara. Next, the 
French were compelled to 
give up Fort Ticonderoga 
and Crown Point on Lake 
Champlain, and were driv- 
en back to Canada. 

Old Quebec. 

143* Fall of Quebec; Pontiac^s Conspiracy. — The French 
had lost Fort Frontenac (Kingston), but they still held Quebec; 
and so long as they had possession of that formidable strong- 
hold, they could continue to threaten the American colonies. 
The fortress was built on a lofty rock, overlooking the St. Lawrence. 
It was rightly believed to be one of the strongest in the world ; in 
fact, the " Gibraltar of America." Montcalm, one of the ablest 
and noblest generals of France, held the fortress. General Wolfe, 
an English soldier of equal character and courage, undertook to 
wrest it from him. The death-struggle came in the autumn of 
1759. In the terrible battle both commanders found the truth 
of the words, "The paths of glory lead but to the grave," ^ which 
Wolfe quoted to his brother officers on the eve of the contest ; 
for both were killed. They met death as only heroes can. The 
English general exclaimed when he heard that his men had gained 



1 Johnson Hall, near Schenectady. Sir William and his son had unbounded 
influence over the Iroquois tribes, and at this period they used that influence for 
the advantage of the colonies. 

2 Gray's " Elegy written in a Country Churchyard " 1749. " Gentlemen," said 
Wolfe to his ofiicers, " I would rather have written those lines than take Quebec." 



138 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

the hard-fought field, " Now, God be praised, I will die in peace." 

The French leader, when told that he must soon breathe his last, 

said, " So much the better, I am happy that I shall not live to 

see the surrender of Quebec." 

The fall of Quebec practically ended the war ; but four years 

later, Pontiac, chief of a Michigan tribe and friendly to the French, 

rose in revolt. He formed a secret league with other tribes, — 

the Iroquois refusing to join, — to drive the English from the whole 

Western country. A young Indian girl betrayed the plot to the 

commander of the fort at Detroit. Pontiac's attack failed, though 

many frontier settlers were massacred, and he himself was forced 

to beg for peace. It was the last general attempt on the part of 

the Indians to leconquer the land that the white man had taken 

from them. 

^' 

144. What the French and Indian War settled. — The fall 

of Quebec was a turning-point in American history. When Wolfe 

with his brave men chmbed the rocky heights back of that great 

fortress on a starlight autumn night of 1759, the whole West, from 

Quebec to the Mississippi and New Orleans, belonged to France. 

When the sun went down the following day, France had lost her 
hold on America forever. By the treaty of peace of 1 763 the 
French king gave up the whole of his possessions in this country 
to England. Of all the magnificent territory that he had held on 
this continent, nothing was left that he could call his own but two 
little barren islands off the coast of Southern Newfoundland ^ which 
the English permitted him to keep, to dry fish on. 

The war settled the fact that America was not to be an appen- 
dage of France, but was to become the home of the chief part of 
the English-speaking race. Spain had owned Florida since its 
discovery by Ponce de Leon ^ — more than two centuries and a 
half. She had fought on the side of France against England : now 
that France was defeated Spain was forced to give up Florida to 
Great Britain ; so that by the end of 1763 the flag of England and 

1 Islands of Miquelon and St. Pierre. 2 gee Paragraph i8. 



THE THIRTEEN COLONIES IN 1763. 139 

of the English colonies floated over the whole eastern section ot 
this continent, from the Atlantic to the great river of the West, 
with the single exception of New Orleans, which, with the Louisiana 
territory west of the Mississippi, was transferred by France to Spain. 

145. Results of the Wars. — The long series of wars between 
the English and the French in this country accomplished four 
great results : i . They united the inhabitants of the colonies — 
especially of those north of the Carolinas — and inspired them 
with new strength. 2. They trained thousands of resolute men in 
the use of arms, and to face an enemy ; and thus, in a measure, pre- 
pared them for the war of Independence not many years distant. 
3. By removing all danger of attack by the French they made the 
colonists feel less need of British protection. 4. They cleared the 
ground east of the Mississippi of rival and hostile forces, and so 
left it open for our ancestors to lay — when the right time should 
come — the corner-stone of the United States. 



General State of the Country in i 763. 

146. The Thirteen Colonies in 1763; Growth of the 
Country; Number and Character of the Population. — I he 

growth of the colonies from the first settlements in 1607^ and 
1620^ to the end of the French and Indian War had been slow but 
steady. When a gardener finds that a healthy young plant shows 
but little progress, he is not discouraged. He says cheerfully, " It 
is all right ; it is making roots, and will last the longer." For a 
century and a half the colonies had been " making roots," — 
getting that firm hold so necessary for the future growth of a 
free and powerful nation. 

In 1 763 ^ the entire population probably did not greatly exceed 
that of New York City now.'' Of this about one-sixth were negro 

1 See Paragraph 47. 2 See Paragraph 73. 

3 The date of England's treaty of peace with France. 

4 No exact estimate of the population can be given, as the first census was not 
taken until 1790. It was probably about 1,800,000. 



140 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

slaves; every colony had some, but by far the larger part were 
owned south of the Potomac. This population was nearly all east 
of the Alleghanies. West of those mountains the country was 
really a howling wilderness. The majority of the colonists — espe- 
cially in Virginia and New England — were English or of English 
descent. Next in number came the Germans in Pennsylvania/ 
the Dutch in New York,^ the Irish and Scotch-Irish ^ who had 
settled to some extent in all of the colonies, and finally, the de- 
scendants of the Huguenots, or French Protestants, most numerous 
in South Carolina.* ^ 

147. Language ; Religion ; Social Rank ; Cities ; Trade. ? 

— Nearly all of the colonists spoke English, and nearly all were .^ 
Protestants.* Most of them had sprung from the same social class 

in the mother-country. A witty Frenchman of that day said that 
the people of England reminded him of a barrel of their own beer 

— froth on the top, dregs at the bottom, but clear and sound in 
the middle. It was from that energetic, industrious, self-respecting 
middle class that the greater part of the emigrants to this country 
came. In none of the colonies was there a titled aristocracy ». 
holding land, and established by law as in Europe. In Virginia, 
however, the great plantations were usually handed down to the 
eldest son after the English fashion. America had men of intel- 
ligence and wealth, but no lords ; she had learned and influential 
clergymen, but no bishops. 

Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and Charleston were the chief 
cities, yet even Philadelphia, then the largest, had only about 
twenty thousand inhabitants, and not one of these cities published 
a daily paper and did not until more than twenty years later.^ 

1 See Note i, page 120. 2 gee Paragraph 61. 

3 See Paragraph 94. 4 gee Paragraph 117. 

5 The greatest number of Catholics were in Maryland ; there they may have 
constituted a fifteenth of the population. 

6 The Boston A^ews Letter, 1704 (weekly), was the first regular newspaper pub- 
lished in America. The American Daily Advertiser, Philadelphia, 1784, is said to 
have been the first daily. 



GOVERNMENT OF THE COLONIES. I4I 

The foreign trade of the country was prosperous. The South 
exported tobacco, rice, indigo, tar, and turpentine ; the North, 
fish, lumber, furs, and iron. New England built and sold so many 
sailing-vessels that the ship-carpenters of Great Britain complained 
that the Americans were ruining their business. Manufactories 
were comparatively few. England treated her colonies in a 
broader and more generous spirit than any other nation in Europe, 
but she wished, so far as practicable, to compel the Americans to 
buy all their goods from her. On this account she refused to let 
them make so much as a yard of fine woollen cloth, an iron pot, 
or print a New Testament. The people of this country did not 
openly dispute this right, or supposed right, of the mother-country 
to restrict their trade ; but they smuggled goods, especially tea 
and other luxuries,- from Europe ; and the British custom-house 
officers pretty generally winked at the landing of such articles. 

148. Government of the Colonies ; Law ; Unity of the 
People. — The colonies did not all have the same form of govern- 
ment. Connecticut and Rhode Island held charters,^ by which 
they practically managed their own affairs in their own way with- 
out interference of any sort. Eight of the remaining colonies^ 
were under a governor appointed by the king ; the three others, 
-Pennsylvania with Delaware,^ and Maryland were governed by 
their proprietors,^ the descendants of William Penn and of Lord 
Baltimore. 

All the colonies had legislative assemblies elected by the peo- 
ple ; by means of these assemblies they levied their own taxes 
and had the chief voice in making their own laws."^ In New 
England all matters of public interest were openly and fearlessly 

1 See Note 3, page 24. 

2 Massachusetts had a charter, but could make only such laws as her governor, 
appointed by the king, saw fit to approve. 3 gee Paragraph 122. 

4 Proprietors : those to whom the land was originally granted. 

5 The laws enacted by the colonial assemblies required the governor's approval, 
except in Rhode Island and Connecticut, where the people elected the governor 
and could legislate, if they chose, without his consent. 



142 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



discussed in town-meeting; in Virginia, county meetings were 
held occasionally for the same purpose. Every white man had 
the right to trial by jury and to the protection given by the 
common law of England. 

The colonists, though loyal to the king, were full of sturdy inde- 
pendence of character. In 1775 some of them adopted a flag on 
which was a rattlesnake coiled ready to strike, and the words, 
" Don't tread on me " ; but they might have hoisted such colors 
just as well a dozen years before, for that flag expressed what their 
real spirit had always been. Though there was but little com- 
munication between the colonies, yet they were essentially one 
people, — they spoke the same language, they appealed for justice 
to the same general law, they held, with some few exceptions, the 
same religion. 



149. Life among the Farmers. — Few of the colonists were 
very rich ; fewer still were miserably poor. The mass of the people 

lived simply but comforta- 
bly. The farm-houses were 
generally built of huge tim- 
bers covered with rough, 
unpainted clapboards, often 
with the upper story pro- 
jecting so that in case of 
an attack by Indians, the 
owner could fire down on 
the savages and give them 
a reception they would re- 
member. Usually the cen- 
tre of such houses was tak- 
en up by an immense open 
fireplace, so big that it was a 
fair question whether the chimney was built for the house or the 
house for the chimney. On a snapping cold night there was no 
more cheerful sight than such a fireplace piled up with blazing 




By the Fireside. 



LIFE IN THE CITIES. 



143 



logs, round which our forefathers and their sturdy families sat 
contentedly, watching the flames as they leaped up the chimney. 
But these roaring fires meant work. During the day the wood- 
chopper seemed to hear them forever crying " more, more," and if 
by ill-chance they went out at night, there were no matches to 
rekindle them. That had to be done by striking a spark with 
flint and steel, catching it on a bit of old half- burnt rag, and then 
blowing that spark to a flame. If we are tempted to envy our 
ancestors their cosy winter evenings, probably few envy them 
their winter mornings in case the fire failed to keep over. 

The cooking was done either over or before these open fires, 
or in huge brick ovens. The food was very simple, — often nothing 
more than mush and molasses for breakfast, — but there was plenty 
of it, and no lack of healthy appetite. 

The farmer bought little at the store. He raised his own food ; 
his sheep furnished wool, and his wife and daughters spun and 
wove it into stout " homespun " cloth. In 
such households there were few idle days, 
but many happy ones ; and for recreation 
the young people had sleighing parties, 
husking-bees,^ general-trainings,^ and other 
merry-makings. 



c!<;rMvy^' 



150. Life in the Cities, and on the 
Great Virginia Plantations. — In the 

cities and large towns, and on the great 

plantations at the South, there was a good 

deal of luxury. The rich lived in stately 

mansions, furnished with solid oak and 

mahogany imported from England. Their 

tables shone with silver plate, and sparkled with costly wines. 

They owned their servants instead of hiring them. Gentlemen, 




The Good Old Times. 



1 Husking-bees : at these gatherings the young people met to husk corn ; there 
was usually quite as much fun as work on such occasions. 

2 General-trainings : meetings for military drill. They occurred once or twice a 
year, and were regarded as holidays. 



144 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

when in full-dress, wore three-cornered cocked hats, long velvet 
coats, lace ruffles at their wrists, knee breeches,^ white silk stock- 
ings, and shoes with silver buckles. They kept their hair long, 
powdered it white, and tied it back in a twist or queue with a black 
silk ribbon. Ladies wore gowns of brocade^ and rich silk almost 
stiff enough to stand alone. They also powdered their hair, so that 
all people of fashion, whether young or old, looked stately and ven- 
erable. In general, life moved in somewhat the same stately way : 
there was no hurrying to catch trains, no flashing of telegrams from 
one end of the country to the other, no newsboy shouting daily 
papers, no instantaneous photographs, no pushing and hustling in 
overcrowded streets. On Sunday every one, or practically every 
one, went to church ; and, in New England, if a man was absent 
more than once without some very good reason, he was in great 
danger of making the acquaintance of the whipping-post. 

151. Travel; Letters; Hospitality; Severe Laws. — Peo- 
ple seldom travelled. When they did, they generally preferred 
going by water if possible, in order to avoid the bad roads. But 
as such travelling was wholly in sailing-vessels, the time when a 
man reached his destination depended altogether on the wind, 
and the wind made no promises. Knowing this fact, some chose 
to go by land. To accommodate these venturesome people a 
lumbering covered-wagon ran once a week between New York 

_^^ and Philadelphia, travelling at the 

rate of about three miles an hour. 
Later (1766), an enterprising indi- 
vidual put on a wagon which actu- 
ally made the trip of ninety miles 

The "Flying Machine," , ■' . ^ r - 

m two days. On account of its 
speed it was advertised as the " Flying Machine " ; the cheaper 

* Knee breeches : breeches coming down to the knees ; before the introduction 
of trousers they were worn by men of all classes. 

2 Brocade : cloth or stuff richly embroidered with raised flpwers or other figures 
in silk or gold and silver thread. 




HOSPITALITY. 



145 



conveyances, which did not "fly," took a day longer to make 
the journey. In the wet season of the year the passengers often 
worked their passage as well as paid for it, for they were fre- 
quently called on to get out and pry the wagon out of the mud 
with fence-rails. 

The expense of carrying the mails made postage so high that 
but few letters were written. These were rarely prepaid ; and as a 
charge of twenty-five cents on a single letter was not very uncom- 
mon, most persons preferred that their friends should think of 
them often but write to them seldom. 

Yet if people rarely wrote to each other and travelled but liule, 
they were quite sure of being hospitably entertained along the way 
when they did venture from home. This was especially the case 
in Virginia. The rich planters in that section considered a guest 
a prize. He brought the latest news and the newest gossip. It 
was no strange thing for a planter to send out one of his negroes 
to station himself by the roadside to watch for the coming of some 
respectable -looking stranger on horseback. Then the servant, 
smiling and bowing, begged him to turn aside and stop over night 
at his master's mansion. There he was sure to be treated to 
the best there was in the house ; and as no 
temperance society had then come into ex- 
istence, the best, both North and South, 

always meant plenty to 

drink as well as plenty 

to eat, followed perhaps 

by a fox-hunt, or some 

other sport, the next 

day. 

But if the times were 

hospitable, they were 

also somewhat rough and 
even brutal. A trifling offence would often send a man to the 
stocks for meditation, and something more serious to the pillory, 
where the passer-by might stop to pelt him with a handful of mud. 






In the Stocks. 



In the Pillory. 




14^ LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

rotten apple, or something worse. Imprisonment for debt was an 
every-day occurrence, and criminals who committed highway rob- 
bery or murder were first paraded through the principal streets 
and then hanged in public. 

152. Education ; Books ; Jonathan Edwards and Benjamin 
Franklin. — Most of the colonists, especially in New England, 
where free schools had long been established by law, could read 
and write fairly well ; and a small number, partieularly clergymen, 
were highly educated. Very few books were published, but the 
rich imported a stock of the best English authors, and, what is 
more, they read them. The two ablest American writers of that 
day were the Rev. Jonathan Edwards of Massachusetts^ and 
Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia. Edwards wrote his great 
work "On the Freedom of the Will" for that small number of 
readers who like a book that forces them to think as well as read. 
Not many can grasp Edwards' thought about the ''Will," but we 
can all understand how nobly he used his own will when he made 
these two resolutions : i. " 71? do whatever I think to be 7ny duty.^'' 
2. ^* To live with all 7iiy inight while I do live^ 

Franklin's best-known work was his Almanac, commonly called 
" Poor Richard's Almanac," ^ which he published for many years. 
It was full of shrewd, practical wit and wisdom, and it suited a 
hard-working people. Men who had begun life with no help but 
such as they got from their own hands and their own brains liked 
to read such sayings as these : " Diligence is the mother of good 
lucky ^^ He that ca?i have patience can have what he will.'''' 
^^ Heaven helps those who help themselves. '''' Thousands of young 
men read these maxims, put them into practice, and found their 
reward in the prosperity and independence to which they led. 

But Franklin did not confine himself to writing ; he was also 
greatly interested in scientific experiments. Everybody has no- 



1 Edwards was born in Connecticut, but spent most of his life in Massachusetts. 

2 Because Franklin represents a curious old fellow, whom he calls " Poor Rich- 
ard," as uttering the sayings which made the almanac famous. Franklin wrote his 
lamous "Autobiography" many years later (1790). 



1/ 





BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 



GENERAL SUMMARY. 147 

ticed that the fur of a cat's back, when stroked vigorously the 
wrong way on a winter's night, will send out a multitude of 'electric 
sparks. Franklin asked himself, Are these sparks the same as the 
flashes of lightning seen in a tl^under-shower ? He resolved to 
find out. To do this he sent up a kite during a shower, and 
fastened a door-key near the end of the string. Touching his 
knuckle to the key he got an electric spark from it. This, and 
other experiments, convinced him that his conjecture was right ; 
electricity and lightning, said he, are one and the same thing. 
That discovery, simple as it now seems, made Franklin famous. 
When he went to England on business for the colonies he needed 
no introduction, — everybody had heard of the American who had 
found the key to the clouds and to electrical science as well. Even 
George III., though he heartily hated Franklin for his independent 
spirit, actually put up a bungling kind of Franklin Hghtning-rod — 
one with a ball instead of a point — on his palace in London. 

To-day we light our cities, propel our street-cars, ring our fire- 
alarms, and send our messages across continents and under oceans 
by this mysterious power. We owe the practical beginning of 
much of this to Franklin. He said, "There are no bounds . . . 
to the force man may raise and use in the electrical way." In 
view of what is now being done in this " electrical way," the words 
of the Philadelphia printer, philosopher, and statesman — written 
more than a hundred years ago — read like a prophecy. 

153. General Summary. — The thirteen colonies were settled, 
mainly by the English, between 1607 and 1733, — Virginia was 
the first colony founded (1607), Massachusetts the second (1620), 
Georgia (1733) the last. During the closing seventy years of this 
period (1689-1763) the colonists were engaged nearly half of the 
time in a series- of wars with the French settlers in Canada, who 
had explored the West and claimed it for themselves. In these 
wars many Indian tribes (but not the Iroquois^) fought on the 
side of the French. The colonists, with the aid of England, 

1 Iroquois : the Indians of New York. See Paragraph 42. 



148 



LEADING FACTS OF AM|:RICAN HISTORY. 



gained the victory, and thus obtained possession of the country 
from the Atlantic to the Mississippi. Up to that time (1763) the 
people had been growing in prosperity, in intelligence, and in the 
determination to maintain all those rights to which as English 
colonists they were justly entitled. 



AMERICAN COMMERCE. I49 



IV. 



"' Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, FREE 
AND INDEPENDENT STATES." — Motion ??iade in the Continental Congress at 
Philadelpkia, jfune 7, 7776, by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, seconded by 
John Adams of Massachusetts. 



-•o*- 



THE REVOLUTION; THE CONSTITUTION. 

1. THE COLONISTS RESIST TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION. 

1764-1775. 

2. THE COLONISTS MAKE WAR AGAINST ENGLAND IN DEFENCE OF 

THEIR RIGHTS AS ENGLISH SUBJECTS, 1775-JULY 4, 1776. 

3. THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE, JULY 4, 1776-1783. 

4. THE FORMATION AND- ADOPTION OF THE CONSTITUTION, 1787- 

1788. 

154. American Commerce ; the New King ; George III. ; 
how he interfered with Trade. — Up to the close of the war 
by which England had compelled the French to give up their hold 
on America the people of this country had prospered. During 
the war, and for a long time before it, the laws which forbade the 
colonists to trade with any country except Great Britain had not 
been enforced. The result was that the New Englanders had 
made a great deal of money by trading with the French and the 
Spanish West Indies — sending them lumber and fish, and bringing 
back molasses and sugar from the French islanders, and bags of 
silver dollars from the Spaniards. 

Now, all this profitable commerce was to stop. A new king — 
George HI. — had come to the throne in England. He was 



150 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

conscientious but narrow-minded, obstinate, and at times crazy .^ 
The new government was determined that the old laws should 
be carried out. Ships of war were stationed along the American 
coast to stop free trade with the French and the Spaniards. In 
Boston and other large towns the king's officers began to break 
into men's houses and shops and search them for smuggled goods.^ 
They did not ask for proof of guilt ; they entered and searched 
when and where they pleased. New England saw her trade 
broken up. It began to look as though the king and his 
" friends " ^ meant to ruin every merchant and ship-builder in the 
country. James Otis and other leading citizens of Boston pro- 
tested, but it was useless. 

155. The King proposes to tax the Colonies; Object of 
the Tax; Protest of the Americans. — This, however, was 
only the beginning of evil. The cost of the late war had been 
enormous and English tax-payers groaned at the thought of 
paying out any more money. But the king was determined to 
send at least ten thousand troops to America, to protect, as he 
said, the colonies against the Indians and the French. In order 
to raise money to pay these soldiers — whom the Americans did 
not want — George III. and his " friends " proposed an entirely new 
^ ^^measure — that was to tax the people of this country. But the 
colonists believed that according to the principles of English law 

1 The king had his first attack of insanity — a mild one — in 1765, while the 
Stamp Act was under discussion. In 1788 he felt that his mind was seriously 
affected ; bursting into tears, he exclaimed that " He wished to God he might die, 
for he was going mad." He soon became so. 

2 The officers did this by general warrants called " Writs of Assistance." These 
were search-warrants in blank. In an ordinary search-warrant the person applying 
to the magistrate for it must swear that he has good reason for suspecting the person 
he accuses, and must have his name, and no other, inserted by the magistrate in 
the warrant. In the case of the " Writs of Assistance " it was entirely different. 
The officers wrote any name they pleased in the warrants, and then entered and 
rummaged the man's house from attic to cellar. Sometimes this was done purely 
out of spite. 

8 Those who supported the kine in England were called the " King's Friends." 



I' •■: 



THE STAMP ACT. 



151 



the king had no just power to demand his people's money except 
by consent of the men whom they should elect to represent 
them in Parliament.^ The Americans had no such representa- 
tives, and, what is more, they were not permitted to send any. 
For this reason they protested against the tax as a direct and 
open violation of their rights. The best men in Parliament — 
such men as William Pitt^ and Edmund Burke — took the side 
of the colonists.^ Burke said that if the king undertook to tax 
the Americans against their will he would find it as hard a job as 
the farmer did who tried to shear a wolf instead of a sheep. 

156. The Stamp Act. — But the king and his ''friends," with 
many others, thought that the Americans were Hke lambs and that 
they would stand any amount of shearing 
without once showing their teeth. Accord- 
ingly, Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 
1765. That act required that the colonists 
should use stamps — resembling our post- 
age-stamps — on all important law and busi- 
ness papers, and also on pamphlets and 
newspapers. The stamps cost all the way 
from a half penny (one cent) up to ten 
pounds (fifty dollars). Such a law, if en- 
forced, would tax everybody in spite of him- 
self ; for every one would have to pay it when he bought a news- 
paper or an almanac, took out a policy of insurance on his house 
or made his will. 

157. Resistance of the Colonists. — Benjamin Franklin,* who 
was in London as agent for the colonies when the law was pro- 




British Stamp. 



1 The British ParHament, which sits in London, is to England what Congress is 
to the United States. It is a law that no tax shall be levied on the British people 
except by members of Parliament elected by the people as their representatives. 

2 See Paragraph 142. 

3 Pitt thought it was not right to tax America ; Burke thought it was not wise to 
do <!o. * See page 131, note i. 



152 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



posed, fought against it with all his might, but, as he said, he might 
as well have tried to stop the sun from setting. In Boston, Samuel 
Adams, the " Father of the Revolution," denounced the act at a 
town meeting held in FaneuiP Hall — the "Cradle of Liberty," as 
it was called. But the law passed, and the colonists got the news 
in the spring of 1765. 

Then the indignation of the people blazed out in an unmis- 

takable manner. In Virginia, 
Patrick Henry fired every heart 
by his eloquence.* James 
Otis^ had already declared 
that '' Taxation without repre- 
sentation ^ is tyranny." Dele- 
gates from nine of the colonies 
met in New York to protest 
against the stamp-act. When 
the hated stamps came the peo- 
ple destroyed them, and even 
the boys shouted, " Liberty, 
property, and no stamps." 

^ 158. Repeal of the Stamp 
Act ; the Declaratory Act ; 
the ** Boston Massacre"; 
Destruction of the Gaspee. 

— When news of these vigor- 
ous proceedings reached London, William Pitt* said in Parlia- 
ment, " In my opinion, this kingdom has no right to lay a tax on 
the colonies ... I rejoice that America has resisted." The 
Stamp Act was speedily repealed (1766),^ much to the delight 




Faneuil Hall, the " Cradle of Liberty." 



2 See Paragraph 154. 

3 See note i, page 151. 



1 Faneuil : commonly pronounced Fan'il. 

* In a speech now familiar to every schoolboy. 

* See Paragraphs 142 and 155. 

* All dates in parentheses [as in tkts case (/7d6)] are j^iven simply to enable the 
pupil to follow the order of time readily ; dates not so enclosed — for instance, 176^, 
on this page — should, as a rule, be committed to memory. 



THE ''BOSTON TEA PARTY. 1^3 

of many people in England as well as of the colonists. Parlia- 
ment, however, put a sting in its repeal, for it passed a Declaratory 
Act, maintaining that the British government had the right to bind 
the colonies "in all cases whatsoever." At the time, the Amer- 
icans did not see the full force of this declaration. 

But they saw it when the king sent troops to be quartered here 
at the expense of the people. New York promptly refused to pay 
the bill. Later, General Gage, the British commander at New 
York, was sent with two regiments to Boston (1768). These 
troops were quartered in the very centre of the town, and they 
had frequent quarrels with the citizens. Finally (1770) a fight 
occurred in which the soldiers fired, in self-defence, and killed 
several of the people. This was called the " Boston Massacre " ; 
the citizens never forgot or forgave the blood stains then made 
on the snow of King Street.^ Later, that feeHng showed itself in 
the destruction by the Rhode Islanders of the Gaspee, an armed 
British vessel stationed off the coast to prevent smuggling. 

159. The New Taxes ; the *' Boston Tea Party. »» — Mean- 
while (1767) the king and his party tried a new scheme of 
taxation. They imposed a duty on glass, paper, paints, and tea. 
The object of the Stamp Act had been to raise money to pay 
the king's soldiers in this country. This new tax had not one 
object, but three : i. To pay the soldiers sent here to do the king's 
will. 2. To pay the governors, judges, and other ofiicers of the 
crown in the colonies, thus making them wholly dependent on 
the king and not on the people, as they had been before. 
3. To give large sums of money to leading citizens and thus hire 
them to use their influence for the king. 

But the Americans were not to be caught in this trap. They 
saw that George IIL was endeavoring to exalt his own power and 
deprive them of theirs, and that the tax was for that purpose. 



1 King Street, now State Street. The soldiers were tried for murder ; James Otis 
and Josiah Quincy of Boston defended them. All but two were acquitted. They 
were convicted of manslaughter, and branded in the hand in open court. 



154 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



The great body of merchants throughout the colonies now 
agreed not to import the taxed articles. Others, like Samuel 
Adams, bound themselves " to eat nothing, drink nothing, wear 
nothing" imported from England until all the duties on goods 

should be taken off. 
Parliament then 
decided to take off 
all taxes on these 
goods except one of 
a few cents a pound 
on tea. This duty 
was retained, not for 
the money it would 
yield, but to main- 
tain the right of the 
British government 
to tax the colonies. 
The price of the tea 
was purposely put so 
low that the Ameri- 
cans could actually 
buy it, tax and all, 
cheaper than they 

Samuel Adams, the "Father of the Revolution." rould smUP'D'le it 

(From Miss Whitney's Statue of Adams, in Adams Square, Boston ) 

from Holland.^ 
But though the colonists wanted the tea, they declared that they 
would not take it, even as a gift, if any tax. even the smallest, was 
demanded. Parliament again made the mistake of supposing that 
our forefathers did not mean what they said. Three tea-ships were 
accordingly sent to Boston, and cargoes were likewise despatched to 
New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston ; but they were sent back or 
destroyed. In Boston (1773) the citizens refused to permit the tea 
to be landed. But if the ships were not unloaded within twenty 

i Up to this time the colonists smuggled most of their tea from Holland ; only 
about one pound in ten came from England. - 




a^eurae 




THE PORT OF BOSTON CLOSED. 155 

days the custom-house ofificers had the right to unload them. The 
nineteenth day came, and unless something decisive was done the 
tea would be brought ashore at sunrise the next morning. An 
immense meeting was held in the Old South Church. After dis- 
cussing the matter all day, until evening set in, it was at length 
found to be impossible to get the vessels sent back to England. 
Samuel Adams then rose and said, " This meeting can do nothing 
more to save the country." These words were the signal for 
action. Suddenly a company of citizens disguised as Indians 
appeared at the church door and gave a war-whoop. Then they 
rushed down to the wharf, and, going on board the vessels, 
emptied every chest of tea — about ^100,000 worth — into the 
harbor. Thus they settled the question that, in case of necessity, 
tea could be made to mix, and mix well, with salt water. 

160. Parliament closes the Port of Boston and places a 
Military Governor over the People; the First Continental 
Congress; Action of Massachusetts; the "Minute Men.'* 

— When Parliament heard of the destruction of the tea the wrath 
of the king's party rose to white heat. They passed a law (1774) 
which closed the port of Boston to all trade until the people should 
pay for the tea, and make humble submission to the king. A 
second law took the government entirely out of the hands of the 
people, and put the colony under the rule of General Gage/ who 
was sent from England to Boston with several regiments of soldiers.^ 

1 General Gage (see page 153) was one of those who took part in Braddock's 
disastrous expedition. (See Paragraph 141.) He was in England in 1773. 

2 Parliament enacted two other laws, known as the Transportation and the 
Quebec Acts. The first gave British officers who were accused of committing 
murder — as in the case of the " Boston Massacre" — the right of trial in England, 
where, of course, everything would be in their favor. (By a law of a different date, 
Americans who committed murder, in resisting oppression, might be sent to Eng- 
land for trial, where, of course, everything would be against them.) The Quebec 
Act united the territory north of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi — which the 
colonists considered theirs — with Canada. The object was to conciliate the French 
Canadians, and, if need be, to get their help in punishing the colonists. The 
Americans called these the " Intolerable Acts." 



156 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



Patrick Henry of Virginia was so indignant at this treatment of 
Massachusetts that he said in the Virginia Convention, " There is 

no longer any room for 



hope. We must fight. 
I repeat it, sir ; we must 
fight." A few months 
after these offensive 
measures went into op- 
eration a Continental 
or General Congress 
— the first ever held in 
America — met in Car- 
penters' Hall, Phila- 
delphia (i 774), to con- 
sider what course the 
colonies should take. 

The spirit of that 
Congress was unmis- 
takable. It was per- 
fectly calm, perfectly 
respectful, but perfectly 
determined. The delegates who met there, of whom George 
Washington was one, did not demand representation in Parlia- 
ment — they had got beyond that — they demanded the right 
to levy all taxes, and make all laws (except those respecting for- 
eign commerce and the like), in their own colonial assemblies.^ 

Not long after this, Massachusetts set up a government quite 
independent of the military rule of General Gage, and made John 
Hancock, a wealthy and influential merchant of Boston, head of it.^ 

1 They declared (Declaration of Rights, October 14, 1774) that since they " cannot 
be properly represented in the British Parliament, they are entitled to a free and ex- 
clusive power of legislation in their several Provincial Legislatures." Yet this same 
Congress (October 26, 1774) sent a petition to the king, imploring him, " as the loving 
Father of your whole People," to redress their wrongs. They might as well have 
petitioned the " Great Stone Face " in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. 

2 Practically, Massachusetts had possessed an independent government ever since 




A " Minute Man." 



■LEXINGTON AND CONCORD. 



157 



The colony next raised twelve thousand volunteers, of whom one- 
third were " Minute Men " ; that is, men ready to march or fight 
at a minute's notice. The spirit of liberty was universal — as a 
South Carolina paper said, " One soul animates 3,000,000 of brave 
Americans, though extended over a long tract of 3000 miles." 



I. From the Beginning of the War in 1775 by the Colo- 
nists IN Defence of their Rights as English Subjects, to 
the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. 

161. The British Expedition to Lexington and Concord; 
Paul Revere ; the Battle ; the Retreat. — General Gage having 
learned that the colonists had stored a quantity of powder and 

provisions for the use of their 
militia, at Concord, about 
twenty miles from Boston, sent 
a secret expedition to destroy 
both. The soldiers were in- 
structed to go by way of Lex- 
ington, and there arrest Samuel 
Adams and John Hancock, who 
were known to be stopping 
with a friend in that village. 
The London papers boasted 




SCALE O F MILES 
50 



100 



that the heads of these two prominent "rebels" would soon be on 
exhibition in that city ; but, as Gage found out, Adams and Han- 
cock were not the kind of men to lose their heads so easily. 

The British troops left Boston just before midnight of April 18, 
1775. Paul Revere, a noted Boston patriot, was on the watch; 
at his request two signal lanterns flashed the news abroad from the 
steeple of the Old North Church, — a church still standing, — and he 
galloped through the country giving the alarm. ^ When he reached 

Governor Hutchinson, in 1772, had refused to convene a legislature to settle the 
question of how the judges' salaries should be paid. Samuel Adams then organized 
" Committees of Correspondence " by means of vi^hich the tovi^ns could consult on 
all public matters by letter. This method was later extended to other colonies, and 
thus prepared the way for calling a Continental Congress. 

1 Longfellow's grand poem, " Paul Revere's Ride," is not strictly historical. 



158 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

the house in Lexington where Hancock and Adams were asleep, a 
man on guard cried out to him, " Don't make so much noise." 
" Noise," shouted Revere, " you'll have noise enough before 
long; the * regulars*^ are coming." 

Just before daybreak of April 19 the "regulars" marched on to 
the village green of Lexington where a number of *' minute men " 
had collected. " Disperse, ye rebels," shouted Pitcairn, the 
British commander. No one moved ; then Pitcairn cried, " Fire ! " 
a volley blazed out, and seven Americans fell dead. Advancing 
to Concord, the soldiers destroyed such military stores as they 
could find ; at Concord Bridge they were met by the patriots. 
Both fired, — it was the true opening battle of the Revolution, — 
several men fell on each side. There the first British blood was 
shed ; there the first British graves were dug. The " regulars " 
then drew back, leaving the Americans in possession of the bridge, 
and began their march toward Boston.^ 

But the whole country was now aroused. The enraged farmers 
fired at the British from behind every wall, bush, and tree. The 
march became a retreat, the retreat something like a run. When 
the ''regulars" got back to Lexington, where Lord Percy met 
them with reinforcements, they dropped panting on the ground, 
their tongues hanging out like those of tired dogs. From Lex- 
ington the " minute men " chased the British all the way to 
Charlestown. Nearly three hundred of the "red-coats," as the 
Americans nicknamed the English soldiers, lay dead or dying 
on the road. 

Percy had marched gaily out of Boston to the tune of " Yankee 
Doodle," played in ridicule of the Americans, but it was noticed 
that his band did not play it on re-entering the town — they had 
had quite enough of all that was " Yankee " for that day. 

1 The soldiers of the regular British army. 

2 When the news of the attack on Lexington and Concord reached England, a 
number of friends of the Americans and their cause made up a purse of ;^5oo which 
they sent to Benjamin Franklin to distribute among the wounded patriots, and the 
wives and mothers of those who were killed by the British. 



ETHAN ALLEN. I 59 

The next morning the British army found themselves shut up 
in Boston. The Americans had surrounded it on the land side ; 
they dared the British to come out and fight — the siege of 
Boston had begun.* * 

162. Meeting of the Second Continental Congress ; Ethan 
Allen's Victories. — The Second Continental Congress met at 
Philadelphia, on May 10, 1775. It recognized George III. as 
the "rightful sovereign" of the American colonies, but it voted 
to raise 15,000 men to defend the liberties of the country. On 
the very day that Congress met, Ethan Allen, a " Green Mountain 
Boy," ^ surprised the sentinel on duty and got entrance with his 
men to Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain. - It was early in 
the morning and the garrison was asleep. Allen burst into the 
commandant's room and demanded the immediate and uncon- 
ditional surrender of the fort. "By what authority?" asked 
the astonished officer. " In the name of the great Jehovah and 
the Continental Congress," thundered Allen. ^ The commandant 
surrendered ; the Americans got possession of cannon, arms, and 
mihtary stores which they sorely needed. Crown Point, a little 
fortress up the lake, was taken the next day. 

163. Washington appointed Commander-in-chief of the 
Continental Army ; Battle of Bunker Hill. — Not long after 
this exploit. Congress appointed Washington commander-in-chief 
of the army around Boston. General Gage had received rein- 
forcements from England under the command of General Howe, 
Clinton, and Burgoyne. He now had a force of about eight 
thousand men. Near the middle of June (1775), he planned 
an expedition to seize Bunker Hill.j This hill is in Charlestown, 
and overlooks part of Boston. Gage was afraid that the Ameri- 
cans might get possession of it; if so, they could fire into his 
camp and make him very uncomfortable. 

^ Allen was born in Litchfield, Connecticut (1737), but early removed to Benning- 
ton, Vermont, the " Green Mountain State/' * See Map. page 160. 

2 It is now denied that Allen used these words, but it is admitted tliat he used 
some that were even more emphatic. One thing is certain : the British commander 
understood him, and gave up the fort. t The name Breed's Hill did not then exist. 



i6o 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 




SCALE OF MILES 



What then was his surprise when he found on the morning of 
the 1 7th of June that the " rebels " had got the start of him 

and had actually seized and for- 
tified the hill. During the night, 
while the British commander 
was peacefully sleeping, Colo- 
nel Prescott, aided later by Gen- 
eral Putnam of Connecticut and 
General Warren of Boston, had 
entrenched himself there with 
about fifteen hundred men. 
General Gage saw that he must 
drive the Americans from Bun- 
ker Hill or they would drive 
^ ^ '- 3 hiixi out of Boston. He sent 

Howe to make the attack with three thousand British "regu- 
lars." The American officers ordered their men to wait — they 
had but Uttle powder and that little was very precious. The 
word was : " Don't fire till you see the white of their eyes." They 
obeyed ; when they did fire the destruction of Hfe was terrible. 
The smoke Hfted and there lay "The * red-coats' stretched in 
windrows as a mower rakes his hay."* 

The British fell back ; rallied, made a second attack and again 
fell back. A third time Howe led his men up the hill. This time 
he was successful. The Americans had fired their last round of 
ammunition, and fighting desperately with the butt ends of their 
muskets — they had no bayonets — and even with clubs and stones, 
they slowly retreated — driven back not because they had been 
defeated, but because they no longer had the means to continue 
the battle. 

In an hour and a half the British lost over a thousand men, 
out of three thousand. The American loss was also very heavy ; ^ 



1 See O. W. Holmes's fine poem, " Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill." 

2 Our loss was 449, that of the British, 1054. When the English government got 
the news of the battle, Gage was ordered to return to England, and the command 
of all the British forces in the colonies was given to General Howe. 



WASHINGTON TAKES COMMAND. 



I6l 



among those who fell was the distinguished patriot, General 
Warren. During the engagement Howe ordered Charlestown to 
be fired, and by night the greater part of the towm was in ashes. 

This act roused Benjamin Franklin's indignation and he \\Tote a 
letter to his former friend Strahan, a member of the English Par- 
liament, which showed that though he was a man of peace yet he 
knew when to be angry .^ When General Washington heard how 
the Americans had fought at Bunker Hill he exclaimed, " The 
liberties of the country are safe ! " 

164. Washington takes Command of the Army ; Expedi- 
tion against Quebec. — Washington reached Cambridge and 

took command of the army — a force of about 
fifteen thousand poorly armed and untrained 
men — early in July (1775). Nothing was done 
that summer. But meanwhile Congress had 
learned that the British in Canada were in- 
tending to march do\\'n and attack points in 
Northern New York. To give them some- 
thing else to think of nearer home, General 
Montgomery of New York set out to take Que- 
bec. He descended Lake Champlain and 
captured Montreal. Benedict Arnold of Con- 
necticut, one of the bravest soldiers of the 
Revolution, started with a force of over a 
thousand men to join in the attack. Setting 
out from Newburyport, Massachusetts, Arnold 
undertook to make his way from the mouth 
of the Kennebec through the forests of Maine. 
He was six weeks' getting across the wilderness. The suffering 
was so terrible that many men deserted, and the rest, after 
having been compelled to eat their moccasins, nearly perished. 
At last Arnold reached Quebec with his ragged, barefooted, half- 
starved, and sadly diminished little army. Montgomer}^ joined 




Boston 



SCALE OF MtLES 



20 



60 



100 



Map showing Arnold's 
route to Quebec. 



1 See copy of this letter in Franklin's handwriting on page 162. 



l62 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

him with a few hundred men, and with this small force they 
attempted, on the last day of the year (1775), to storm "the 
strongest fortified city of America." Montgomery was killed at 
the head of his troops, and Arnold badly wounded — it would 
have been a happy thing for the latter if he, too, had fallen dead 
on the field. A few months later the Americans were driven out 
of Canada. 

165. Washington enters Boston ; the British repulsed at 
Fort Moultrie. — Throughout the winter of 1775-76 want of 
artillery and powder prevented Washington from doing anything 
more than simply keeping up the siege of Boston. At length 
General Knox succeeded in dragging fifty cannon on ox-sleds 
all the way from Ticonderoga* to Cambridge. Early in March 
(1776) Washington seized Dorchester Heights (South Boston) 
overlooking Boston on the south. He got his cannon into posi- 
tion and then gave General Howe — who had succeeded Gage in 
command — his choice of withdrawing his forces from the town 
or having it battered to pieces about his ears. Howe took a 
good look, through his spy-glass, at the American guns on the 
Heights, and then gave the order to his men to embark (March 
17 — St. Patrick's Day — 1776) for Halifax. 

The following day Washington entered Boston in triumph. The 
British had left it never to return. With them went about a thou- 
sand Tories, as those Americans were called who opposed the 
war and wished to submit to the king. The Whigs, or patriots, 
now held a day of rejoicing, and Congress voted Washington a 
gold medal to commemorate his bloodless victory. 

About midsummer (June 28, 1776) a British fleet ^ attacked 
Fort Sullivan, on Sullivan's Island, in the harbor of Charleston, 

1 See Paragraph 162. A distance of about 200 miles, most of the way through 
a country that was practically a wilderness. 

2 General Clinton left Boston in the winter of 1776 and sailed to attack the Car- 
olinas. He was joined there by a fleet from England under Sir Peter Parker and 
Lord Cornwallis. After their defeat at Fort Sullivan, Cornwallis and Clinton, with 
their men, went to New York. 





• ^7-^' 



-,«^i(Si--:^;2.-^-<i- <j^-0- 




^:^,^^,yCc4f'rn^^-^nJ- 



i^2^^t^i 









i^^ 



■2 



^TO^c^e^*^ cy-c^'T^ £>~i,4^r^ 




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V 



y 



^ — ^Z^rt^ 




^Z.^'Tn^ 




FRANKLIN'S LETTER TO STRAHAN. 



<t 



COMMON SENSE. 



163 



South Carolina. Their hope was to get possession of the city ; 
but Colonel Moultrie, aided by such heroes as Sergeant Jasper, 
defended this log fort with such energy that the enemy were not 
sorry to withdraw. Thereafter the fort 
was called Fort Moultrie in honor of its 
brave commander. 



^t^ 



166. ** Common Sense ^* ; the 




Americans decide to separate from 
Great Britain. — Up to 1776 the Ameri- 
cans had been fighting in defence of their 
rights as British subjects. AVashington 
said : " When I first took command of 
the Continental army I abhorred the 
idea of independence." But in Janu- 
ary, 1776, the king's proclamation 
reached Congress. In it he called for 
troops to put down " the rebellion " in 
America. That was the only answer 
he gave to their humble petition^ for 
justice. Congress now saw that there p.^^ced Copy of the Gold Medai 

was no hope of reconciliation. The presented to Washington by Con- 
, , , . gress. 

very day that proclamation came a re- 
markable pamphlet was published in Philadelphia. It was enti- 
tled " Common Sense." The writer withheld his name,^ but he 
boldly said that the time had come for a "final separation" from 
England, and that " arms must decide the contest." The pam- 
phlet sold by tens of thousands, because it gave voice to what 
tens of thousands were thinking. The English people would not 
volunteer to fight the Americans, and the king had to hire, in all, 
nearly thirty thousand Hessians^ for the work. The knowledge 

1 See note i on page 156. 

2 The writer was Thomas Paine, an Englishman who had come to this country 
and espoused the cause of American liberty. 

3 Hessians : Germans from the province of Hesse and vicinity. The Prince of 



164 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



of that fact cut the last thread that held us bound to the mother 
country. The Americans had not sought separation; the king 

— not the English people 

— had forced it on them 
There was no choice left. 

167. The Declaration 
of Independence. — In 
June, 1776, Richard Henry 
Lee of Virginia offered this 
resolution in Congress : " Re- 
solved : that these United 
Colonies are, and of right 

ought to be, FREE AND IN- 
DEPENDENT STATES." John Adams of Massachusetts seconded the 
resolution. A committee of five — Thomas Jefferson of Vir- 

lAJ-c nrrJK^<ZX<.oLj£MM, pfy-£- cLj^iL. ^io C^a. c/n. iffhji/v' arUL^ 




The Old State House (" Independence Hail ") Phil- 
adelphia, as it appeared in 1776, 




Reduced Copy of the last line of the Declaration of Independence (in Jefferson's hand- 
writing) with the first three signatures. 

Hesse sold their services to the English king. The Germans had no voice in the 
matter, and had to go and fight where they were sent. Eighteen thousand were 
sent over the first year and eleven thousand afterward. 






1 




\ 



J 



■XS^s-'^"'* 



^.' 




THOMAS JEFFERSON 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



165 



ginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Fiankhn of 
Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, and Robert R. 
Livingston of New York — was chosen to draw up a declara- 
tion embodying that resolution. Thomas Jefferson did the 
work. On the Fourth of July, 1776, John Hancock, President of 
Congress, signed the Decla- 
ration of American Indepen- 
dence in that bold, decided 
hand which '' the king of Eng- 
land could read without spec- 
tacles." Then the patriots of 
Philadelphia rang the " Lib- 
erty Bell" in the Old State 
House till it nearly cracked 
with the joyous peal. In New 
York City the people pulled 
down a gilded lead statue of 
the king and melted it up into 
bullets. 

Later, the representatives of 
the colonies added their names 
to the Declaration. That com- 
pleted the work ; the thirteen 
British colonies had ceased to exist ; in their place stood a new 
nation — the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, — your country 
and mine. 




Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Philadelphia. 

( It wu cracked in 1835, while tollinir for the death of 
Chief Justice Marshall.; 



i68. Summary. — George III. endeavored to tax the colonists 
against their will, and in violation of their rights as Enghsh sub- 
jects. They resisted, and finally took up arms in their defence. 
The king refused to listen to the demands of the Americans, hired 
a foreign army to subdue the people, and so drove them, at last, 
to separate from Great Britain and to declare themselves inde- 
pendent. 



1 66 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



2. The War of Independence, from July 4, 1776, to the 

Victory of Saratoga, 1777. 

169. What the British hoped to do in New York. — Driven 

out of Boston and defeated at Fort Moultrie the British deter- 
mined to strike their next blow at New York. Their plan was to 
get possession of the city and of the Hudson River. They could 
then prevent the New England colonists and those south of New 
York from gii^ Pv^ other any help ; for our force on land was 
small. 

We had<fio vessels ofWar to attack the enemy by sea. If the 
British were successful iiJ thus cutting the colonies in two, they 
could tljen send a large] force against Boston or Philadelphia, 
whichever they thciiht b^t, and feel sure that the people of the 
two secftons could ntt unite to defend either. 

17^ Washington's Preparations to receive the British; 
Fott Washingtc^ and F6rt\Lee. — Washington foresaw this 
de sign uf Ihf tliJii)' dlld picpa red for it. When General Howe, 
with his brother, \^ord Howe, commander of the English fleet, 
reached New tjjk in the summer (1776) they found Washing- 
ton in possession of the city. Furthermore, they found, to their 
disappointment, that they could not send their ships up the 
Hudson so easily as they had hoped, for the Americans had 
built two forts expressly to prevent it. One of these was Fort 
Washington, on the upper part of Manhattan Island, on the bank 
of the Hudson ; the other was Fort Lee, nearly opposite, on the 
Jersey shore.^ Between these two forts vessels had been sunk, 
so that if any of the enemy's ships tried to go up the river 
they would first be checked by the sunken vessels, and next, 
they would be exposed to the cross fire from the cannon of 
both forts. 



1 See map of New York City and vicinity, page 154. 



^ 



THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 



167 



171. The Two Armies ; the Battle of Long Island. — But 

the British were confident that they could win the day. Howe 
and his brother were experienced miHtary commanders. They 
had the aid of Chnton and CornwaUis,^ both of whom were good 
generals, and over thirty thousand well-armed soldiers — men who 
fought for a living — while Washington had less than eighteen 
thousand, most of whom knew nothing of war, while many had 
no muskets fit to fight with. On the other hand, Washington had 
the advantage of position.' He not only held the city and the 

forts on the Hudson, but he had possession 
of Brooklyn Heights on Long Island directly 
opposite the city on the south. General 
Howe, with his army, was on Staten Island. 
He saw that if he could take Brooklyn 
Heights, and plant his cannon there, he could 
drive Washington out of New York, just as 
Washington, by seizing Dorchester Heights, 
had driven him out of Boston.^ 

General Putnam was in command of the Heights with a force 
of nine thousand men. Believing that the British meant to attack 
him, he sent about half his force to meet the enemy. The British, 
twenty thousand strong, or nearly five to one of the Americans, 
came across from Staten Island and landing on the southwestern 
shore of Long Island began their march toward the Heights. 
They soon met and defeated ^ the little army sent against them 
in what was called the battle of Long Island (August 27, 1776). 
They then got ready to besiege Putnam. 

Putnam with his whole army would certainly have been captured 
if it had not been for Washington's energy and skill. During the 




1 See note 2, page 162. Cornwallis, though he fought against us, was strongly 
opposed to the war, and believed that the Americans were right in protesting 
against taxation so long as they were denied representation. 

2 See Paragraph 165. 

8 Each side lost about 400 in killed and wounded ; but over 1000 Americans 
were tak^i prisoners. Many of these prisoners died from their sufferings in the 
British prison pens. 



l68 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

night a dense fog came up. Washington took advantage of it 
and succeeded in getting all the men across the river in boats to 
New York. In the morning, when the British commander stretched 
out his hand to take the " nest of rebels," as he called it, he got 
the nest indeed, but it was empty — the birds had flown. 

172. Washington retreats Northward; Fort Washington 
taken; Lee's Disobedience. — Washington was now forced to 
abandon New York and retreat up the east side of the river. The 
British ships passed Fort Washington and Fort Lee. Washington 
ordered West Point,^ the strongest place on the Hudson, to be 
fortified, so as to prevent the enemy from going up to Albany. 
Meanwhile a deserter had carried plans of Fort Washington to 
the British commander. He now knew just where to strike, 
and took the fort with three thousand prisoners. It was a terrible 
blow. Washington, who was now on the west bank of the river, 
could not hold his ground against Lord CornwalHs, for he had 
left quite a large force of his best soldiers on the east side of the 
Hudson under command of General Charles Lee,^ and when 
Washington ordered him to come over and join him, Lee wil- 
fully disobeyed. 

173. Fort Lee taken ; Washington retreats across the 
Delaware ; General Lee captured. — It was of no use for the 

Americans to try to hold Fort Lee now that the fort opposite was 
taken. CornwalHs threatened to attack it and it was abandoned. 
Washington with his small force now began to retreat across New 
Jersey. He broke down bridges after he had crossed them ; 

1 West Point, on the west bank of the Hudson in the Highlands, 45 miles above 
New York. See Map, page 169. 

2 General Charles Lee was born in England. He had been an officer in the 
British army, but had left that service, come to this country, and had obtained the 
rank of major-general in the American army. He was in no way connected with 
the Lees of Virginia. While he was in command on the Hudson he was trying to 
prejudice Congress against Washington, in hope of getting his place. Later he 
showed himself to be utterly unprincipled and treacherous. 










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169 



v,*Le Of MiL£* Cbtiry Vaffer 



destroyed the provisions Comwallis hoped to get for his army, 
and so delayed the enemy that it took them nearly three weeks 
(November 19 to December 8) to march less than seventy miles 
across a level country. Washington hoped to save Philadelphia 
from falling into the hands of the British. If he could not, and 
everything went against him, he intended to escape with his little 
army to the mountains of Western Virginia, which he knew per- 
fectly. There he could fight for years in the cause of liberty. 

Comwallis and his "red- 
coats" followed the retreat- 
ing Americans sometimes at 
a distance, then again close 
on their heels. There were 
times when the British would 
be entering a town just as 
our men were hurrying out 
of it. Many patriots began 
to despair of success. What, 
they asked, can we hope 
from a fugitive army of three 
thousand men, miserably 
armed, scantily clothed, half- 
fed, not paid? How can 
they escape their pursuers? 
Under any other general they 
could not have escaped ; but 
they had Washington for their leader; and he was the heart, 
strength, and soul of the Revolution. Finding that he could not 
hold New Jersey, he was forced at last (December 8, 1776) to 
cross the Delaware at Trenton. The British would have pushed 
on after him ; but the American general had thought of that, 
and had seized every boat for nearly a hundred miles up and 
down the river. All the British could do was to sit down on the 
bank and wait for the stream to freeze over. 

Not long after Washington had reached Pennsylvania in safety 




I/O 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



the false-hearted Lee crossed the Hudson and marched with four 
thousand men toward Morristown, New Jersey. While he was 
asleep in a tavern, several miles from his men, a squad of British 
soldiers surprised and captured him. His army thus fortunately 
rid of him, advanced and found an opportunity to join Wash- 
ington. 

174. The Victory of Trenton. — On Christmas night (1776) 
Washington, with a force of less than twenty-five hundred men, 
re-crossed the Delaware — then full of floating ice — and marched 
on Trenton in a furious snow-storm. There he surprised a body 
of Hessian^ soldiers, and took a thousand prisoners and a large 
quantity of arms and ammunition. 

All this he did with scarce the loss of a man. It was not only 
a bold stroke, but a great victory, because it had great results. 
Thousands of patriots had begun to despair ; now their hearts 
leaped with joy. It was a Christmas long to be remembered. 

175. What Robert Morris did for Washington. — But it 
was near the end of the year ; the time for which many of Wash- 
ington's men had enlisted would 
be out in a few days, and he 
needed money to get them to 
re-enlist. Congress had indeed 
tried hard to manufacture 
money. It had printed bills ^ 
by the wagon-load. But the 
poor soldiers, barefooted, half- 
starved, ragged and miserable, 
did not want what Congress 
offered them. They had left 

wives and children at home who were crying for bread, and 




Continental Money. 



^ See note 3, page 163. 

2 These bills were called " Continental Currency " ; they finally became utterly 
worthless, so that it was said of anything absolutely good for nothing that it was 
" not worth a Continental." 



CORNWALIIS O 

the men wanted to send ■' r 
They knew by sad experievi<_< 
ernment that had no silver 
just as much as any other < 
— and worth no more, 

Washington symp ithiz 
occasion he must h... j 
He wrote to his frier-d 
Philadelphia, implon-^ 
Morris set out on N. .' 
went from house to house, 
at last got the money. H 
was as good as another victo. 

176. Cornwpllis outwitted ; V 
Quarters at Morristown ; comi 
and Steuben. — Ccmwallis, leaving 
New Jersey, hurried south to catch V/ash. 
between Trenton ard the Delaware. That i: 
eral went to sleep, certain that Washington 

How indeed could he hope co escape, with in:. ., „ 

front and a broad, deep river fill of floating ice behii^ 
Comwalhs told his brother officers that they would " hcg Uiv 
fox" in the morning. While the English general lay 01^:! -711. 
Washington like an " old fox " crept stealthily round him, and gu. 
to Princeton. In the battle there (January 3, 1777), the American 
advance force was driven back. Just then Washington ca 1 
up. He saw that if beaten our army would be lost. CalHng o.-" 
his troops to follow him, Washington rode to within thirty yards of 
the British force, and stood facing the foe exposed to the fire of 
both sides. For some moments he was completely hidden from 
sight by the smoke of the battle. When it hfted both sides 
expected to find that he had fallen; but he was unhurt; not a 
bullet had touched him. Our men, inspired by the bravery of 
their commander, defeated the enemy with heavy loss to the 



'>F AMERICAN HISTORY. 



.J a and his little army made 
about Morristown, in north- 



A 








Wi'i'h ^ 



r:;^;;::;*ibany 



SCALE OF MILES 



25 



6U 



100 



IV e Washington out of his 
Ic, so he hurried back to 
at the Americans would 
k City. 

'• -"f 1777 at Morristown, 

.food fighting condi- 

it" ette, a French noble- 

^r i. services to the cause 

le of Washington's generals, 

and nut only gave his services 

to tUe country, but equipped 

many of the men under his 



j jommand with arms and cloth- 



ing furnished at his own ex- 
pense. Lafayette brought with 
him Baron de Kalb, a German 
military veteran, who also be- 
came a general in the United 
States army. Later, Baron 
Steuben, a Prussian military en- 
gineer, joined the Americans 
and made himself of the great- 
est use in drilling and disciplin- 
ing our troops. 



177. Burgoyne's Expedition ; Battle of Bennington. — In 

the summer of 1777 the British made a new movCo General Bur- 
goyne,^ who had gone to Canada, marched down with eight thou- 
sand picked men by way of Lake Champlain, and took Fort 

1 See Paragraph 163. Burgoyne returned to England from Boston in the 
autumn of 1775. In June, 1776, he came over to America to serve under Sir Guy 
Carleton, the British commander of Canada. 



BATTLE OF BENNINGTON. 1/3 

Ticonderoga. He then pressed forward to reach the Hudson, 
with the expectation that part of General Howe's army would 
meet him there. Meanwhile, another British expedition, starting 
from Oswego, was to raise a force of Iroquois Indians and unite 
with Burgoyne. Thus the three English armies expected to get 
the entire control of the state of New York and the Hudson 
River, and so carry out the favorite plan of cutting oif New Eng- 
land — " the head of the rebellion " — from the other colonies. 

The Oswego expedition accomplished nothing, but all went 
well with Burgoyne until he struck into the wilderness south of 
Lake Champlain. Then his troubles began. General Schuyler* 
broke down all the bridges, felled trees across the only road there 
was through the woods, and did everything to make Burgoyne 's 
life a burden to him. To add to his misfortunes, the British gen- 
eral's horses and provisions began to give out. He sent an expe- 
dition with a thousand men to Bennington, Vermont, to get more. 
Colonel John Stark,^ one of the heroes of Bunker Hill, with a 
small force, started to meet the enemy. Pointing to the '• red- 
coats," he said, " There they are, boys ; we beat them to-day 
or Molly Stark's® a widow." Mrs. Stark had no occasion to put 
on mourning ; for her husband, with his men, whipped the British 
(August 1 6, 1777) so badly that less than a hundred out of the 
thousand ever got back to Burgoyne. Washington called the 
victory a " great stroke." It was, indeed, for by weakening Bur- 
goyne's force, and preventing his getting provisions, it prepared 
the way for his final downfall. 

178. Howe's Expedition to Pennsylvania; Battle of 
Brandywine ; Philadelphia taken j Battle of Germantown. 

— While these events were happening Howe started to march 
on Philadelphia. Washington had not men enough to meet 



1 General Philip Schuyler of Albany, New York. 

2 See Paragraph 40. 

3 As Mrs. Stark's name was Elizabeth, this story has been called in question; 
but the fact remains that Stark thrashed the enemy. 



174 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



SCALE OF MiLES 



L.- 



him in open fight, but he so worried him, and wasted his time, 
that the British general finally went back with his army to New 
York in disgust. He then started bv sea. Findinar that he could 

not go up the Delaware, 
which was fortified against 
him, he sailed south, entered 
Chesapeake Bay, and land- 
ing at the head of it, marched 
against Philadelphia. Wash- 
ington met him at Brandy- 
wine Creek, and tried to 
check his advance ; but 
Howe had a much stronger 
force, and the battle (Sep- 
tember II, 1777) delayed 
but did not stop the British. 
Two weeks later the enemy 
entered the citv which was 
then the capital of the Unit- 
ed States. Leaving a small 
force at Germanto\\'n, now a 
part of Philadelphia, Howe went do^\^l the Delaware to capture 
the forts and get possession of that river. While he was gone 
Washington attacked the British at Germantown, but was repulsed. 
He then fell back to the hills on the Schuylkill at Valley Forge, 
about twenty miles northwest of Philadelphia. 




179. Saratoga; the ''Stars and Stripes"; Help from 
France. — Meanwhile, great events had happened in the North. 
Burgo\-ne had fought two battles in the neighborhood of Saratoga 
(1777),^ had been utterly defeated, and his entire army, number- 
ing about six thousand men, captured. If to this num.ber we add 



1 The first battle was at Bemis Heights, between Saratoga Lake and the Hudson, 
September 19 ; the second, at Stillwater, south of the Heights, October 7. Burgoyne 
surrendered at Saratoga, October 17 (1777). See Map on page 172. 



CAPTURE OF BURGOYNE. I75 

that of the prisoners taken by us before the surrender, and the 
loss of the enemy at Bennington,* it will give a total of nearly 
10,000 — or about one-third the entire British force then in 
America.^ The captured army was marched off by the American 
officers triumphantly bearing the "stars and stripes,"^ which had 
just been adopted as our national flag. General Gates * got the 
credit of the victory; but Benedict Arnold, and Daniel ISIorgan^ 
with his sharpshooters, were the men who really won it, partly 
by gallant fighting, and partly by cutting off all supplies from 
the enemy, and at last literally star\'ing them into a surrender. 

In the wars of over twenty centuries an eminent English 
writer finds only fifteen battles that have had a lasting influence 
on the world's history. The American victory at Saratoga, he 
says, was one of them.^ It had indeed these two immense re- 
sults : I. It completely broke up the English plans for the war. 
2. It secured for us the aid of England's old and powerful enemy, 
France. 

Some time after the victory, Lafayette received letters from 
Paris. When he had read them he ran to Washington, and embrac- 
ing him with tears of joy, cried out, "The King, my master, has 

1 See Paragraph 177. 

2 The estimates of Burgoyne's loss vary from about 6000 at Saratoga to a total 
(for his entire campaign in New York) of 14,000. 

3 The first United States flag (adopted by Congress, June 14, 1777) having the 
stars and stripes, was made, it is said, out of a soldier's white shirt, an old blue 
army overcoat, and a red flannel petticoat. It was hoisted by our army at Fort 
Stanwix (near Rome), New York, during Burgoyne's campaign in 1777. Paul 
Jones appears to have first raised this flag at sea. The flag raised by Washington 
at Cambridge when he took command of the army was the English flag with 
thirteen red and white stripes added. In the flag adopted by Congress the stars 
represent all the states ; the stripes, the first thirteen states. 

4 General Gates, like General Charles Lee (see Paragraph 172), was born in 
Great Britain, and had served in the English army. He appears to have taken no 
direct part in these battles ; in fact, he was not actually on the field in either. 

5 Daniel Morgan of Virginia. He commanded a force of five hundred picked 
riflemen — "sharpshooters" — with aim so accurate that it was humorously said 
that any one of them could toss up an apple and shoot all the seeds out of it as it 
fell. The enemy who had to face these riflemen never disputed the story. 

6 " The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World," by Sir Edward S. Creasy. 



1/6 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

acknowledged the independence of America, and will sign a 
treaty to help you establish it." It was true. Men are always 
willing to help those who show that they are able to help them- 
selves. We had shown it, and now France held out her hand to 
us. The next year (February 6, 1778) Benjamin Franklin, our 
minister ^ at Paris, obtained the treaty or agreement by which the 
French king pledged himself to send us men, ships, and money to 
complete the war. Franklin and Washington were, in fact, the 
two great men who carried the war through to final success : 
Washington by destroying enemies, Franklin by gaining friends ; 
Washington by the sword, Franklin, like Morris, with the purse .-^ 

180. Summary. — The war of Independence began with the 
Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. In the first battle, 
that of Long Island, the Americans were defeated. Washing- 
ton retreated across the Delaware, but returned and gained the 
brilliant victory of Trenton. Howe took Philadelphia ; but shortly 
after, the Americans captured Burgoyne and his whole army at 
Saratoga ; in consequence of that success France recognized the 
independence of America, and pledged herself to help us fight our 
battles by land and sea. 

3. The War of Independence : from the Treaty with France 
TO the End of the War, i 778-1 783. 

181. Washington at Valley Forge, Winter of 1 777-1 778 ; 
Peace offered ; Howe leaves Philadelphia. — But though the 
great victory of Saratoga filled the land with joy, yet the winter 
which followed was a terrible one. While Howe and his officers 
were living luxuriously in Philadelphia, Washington's men, " naked 
and starving," were dying of putrid fever on the frozen hillsides 

1 Minister : see note 3, page 185. Franklin lent all his ready money — about 
fifteen thousand dollars — to the country, to fight the battles of the Revolution, and 
lent it when everything looked against us. His influence got us a gift from France 
— nearly two million dollars — and a loan of over three million dollars more. 
Thus he used his own purse and the purse of the French king to help us. 



BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. 1/7 

of Valley Forge. They were dying, too, before the good news 
could reach them — for news from Europe travelled very slowly 
in those days — that the French king would certainly aid America. 
But the next spring (1778) England, alarmed at the action of 
France in taking our part, offered us peace, representation in Par- 
liament — anything, everything in fact, but independence. But it 
was independence that we were fighting for, and the offer was 
rejected. Fear of the approaching French fleet now compelled 
the British ^ to abandon Philadelphia and start for New York. 

182. Battle of Monmouth ; Lee's Disgrace ; Indian Mas- 
sacres ; Clark's Victories in the West. — Fifteen thousand 
of the Enghsh forces were to go by land across New Jersey. 
Now was Washington's opportunity. With about the same number 
he followed them up sharply. A battle was fought at Monmouth 
(June 28, 1778). It would have ended in a brilliant victory for 
our side, if General Charles Lee,^ who unfortunately had come 
back to us,^ had done his duty. He acted like a lunatic or a 
traitor. Washington sternly rebuked him, and shortly after ordered 
him to withdraw from the battle and go to the rear. Later, Lee 
was tried by court-martial "* for disobedience and misbehavior, and 
suspended from the army ; eventually Congress dismissed him in 
disgrace, and in disgrace he died. 

Monmouth^ was the last battle of note fought on northern soil. 
The British forces had now returned to New York and vicinity. 
Washington, with his army stretched out from Morristown, New 
Jersey, to West Point on the Hudson, watched them day and 
night. 

1 During the winter General Howe resigned. His brother, Lord Howe, resigned 
the next summer (1778). Sir Henry Clinton succeeded General Howe in com- 
mand of the army (May, 1779,) and Admiral Byron succeeded Lord Howe in com- 
mand of the British fleet. 2 See Paragraph 173. 

3 While Lee was a prisoner, the Enghsh government thought of hanging him as 
a deserter from their army. Washington saved him from the gallows — it was one 
of the few mistakes that great man ever made. 

4 A court composed of military officers. 5 Monmouth : see Map, page 174. 



178 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



During the summer and autumn horrible Indian massacres were 
committed by bands of ferocious Iroquois led by Tory^ cap- 
tains at Wyoming, Pennsylvania, and Cherry Valley, New York \ 
there were also towns attacked and burned to ashes along the 
coast; but no great battle was fought. In the West, Captain 
George Rogers Clark of Virginia by his resolute bravery drove 
the British out of Illinois and later from Indiana, thus securing 
that immense region to the United States. It began to look as 
though the British were losing their grip on America. 

183. The British attack the South; Savannah taken; 
Wayne's Victory; Paul Jones. —The enemy now transferred 
the war to the South. Their plan was to begin at Georgia, and 
conquer northward. Then, in case the English government was 
forced to make peace, they hoped to be able to keep the southern 
territory — King George was prudent : " Half a loaf," said he to 
himself, "is better than none." The last of the year (December 
29, 1 778) an expedition attacked Savannah. The British had three 
men to our one ; they took the city. The next year (i 779) there 
was a lull. The British had got possession of the fort at Stony 
Point,^ in the Highlands of the Hudson. So long as they held it, 
our men could not cross the river at King's Ferry — then the prin- 
cipal crossing-place between New England and the southern states. 
"Mad Anthony Wayne," ^ under Washington's direction, stormed 
and took the fort (July 15, 1779), at midnight, at the point of the 
bayonet — never firing a shot during the battle. The capture of 
the fort stopped the British plans for ravaging Connecticut. They 
found that they must use all their forces to hold the Hudson. 

The next autumn brought glorious news. Captain Paul Jones,* 
the first man to hoist an American flag over an American war- 



1 See Paragraph 165. 2 Stony Point : see Map, page 174. 

3 General Anthony Wayne of Pennsylvania. He was called " Mad Anthony 
Wayne " on account of his daring. 

■* Paul Jones was by birth a Scotchman. He entered the American service in 
1775. His name was originally John Paul. 



CHARLESTON TAKEN. 



179 



ship, had, with the help of Benjamin Frankhn, fitted out three 
or four vessels in our defence. With three, one of them a half- 
rotten old hulk, he boldly attacked 
and captured two British men-of- 
war. The fight took place on the 
North Sea, off' Flamborough Head on 
the English coast. After that most 
humiUating defeat England still boasted 
that she was "mistress of the seas";^ 
but the boast was in a lower tone : 
if Paul Jones had only had a few more 
ships, he would have made the tone 
a whisper. 




184. The British take Charleston ; Marion and Sumter^s 
Mode of Fighting. — In the spring (1780) the war in the South 
was renewed with vigor. The British took Charleston (May 12, 
1780), and Lord Cornwallis held the city. But Marion^ and 
Sumter, with their bands of resolute men armed with a few guns, 
and weapons made of old scythes and saw-blades, did good service 
in the American cause. When the British forces went out to 
conquer the country, the Carolina patriots attacked them as the 
mosquitoes of Alaska attack a bear. They buzz, sting, retreat ; 
advance, buzz, sting; till at last the unwieldy brute, with eyes 
swollen so that he can no longer see, wanders around helpless, 
and dies of starvation. 

185. Loss of Camden; Victory at King^s Mountain. — The 

next point at which the British aimed was Camden,^ South Caro- 
lina — a great centre for roads, and hence of much importance from 
a military point of view. General Gates with General De Kalb 
endeavored to prevent the enemy from getting possession of the 
place. A battle was fought (August 16, 1780) in which Gates 



1 See Paragraph 117. 



2 Camden : see Map, page 181. 



l80 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

was compelled to retreat, losing artillery and baggage, and nar- 
rowly escaping capture himself. 

But while Cornwallis was chuckling over his victory, the back- 
woodsmen of this part of the country, sharpshooters, every man, 
attacked a British force at King's Mountain (October 7,1780), 
on the borders of North and South Carolina, and gave a decided 
check to the enemy's further advance. 

186. Arnold's Treason ; the Terrible Winter at Morris- 
town. — Meanwhile (September 22, 17S0), the most starthng and 
the saddest event of the Revolution occurred. Benedict Arnold, 
Washington's trusted friend, commander at West Point, had turned 
traitor. The discovery was made through the arrest of Andre,^ a 
British spy by whom Arnold attempted to send a plan of the fort 
to the British commander at New York. Andre was tried and 
hanged, but Arnold escaped to the British army. Later, the traitor 
led an attack on Richmond, Virginia, and burnt it, and, last of all, 
one on New London in his native state of Connecticut. 

Arnold died in London twenty years later. It is said that the 
last request he made was that the epaulettes and sword-knot which 
Washington had given him might be brought. " Let me die," 
said he, **'in my old American uniform, in which I fought my 
battles. God forgive me for ever having put on any other ! " 

The gloom of Arnold's awful act of treason seemed to be reflected 
in the American camp at Morristown in the terrible winter 
(i 780-1 781) which followed. In some respects it was worse 
even than that at Valley Forge : and the men, unpaid, half-fed, 
freezing, were driven to desperation and partial revolt. 

187. Greene's Campaign in the South ; Cornwallis leaves 
the Carolinas. — But it was the gloom that precedes the dawn. 
General Nathanael Greene of Rhode Island had been placed in 
command at the South. Next to Washington he was by far the 

1 Andre (^An'dray). 



GREENE S VICTORIES. 



i8i 



ablest soldier in the Revolution. With a little force that seemed, 

as he said, but " the shadow of an army," he accomplished wonders. 

Early in the year (January 17, 1781) a part of Greene's men, 

led by Morgan,' gained the battle of Co^vpens, South Carolina. 




SCALE OF MILES 

1—1 I I — 

11 v'j 4Li i;o 



Then Greene, who was master of the game he was now playing, 
retreated toward Virginia, thus drawing Cornwallis, who followed 
him, further and further away from his supplies at Charleston. But 
the American general had many anxious days during this retreat, 
and often the chances of success seemed wholly against him. 

On one such occasion he reached Steele's tavern at Salisbury 
after midnight and wet to the skin with the heavy rain that had 
fallen all day. Steele looked at him in astonishment and asked 
if he was alone. 

"Yes," answered the general, "tired, hungry, alone, and pen- 
niless." Mrs. Steele heard his reply; she made haste and set 



i See Paragraph 179. 



l82 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

a smoking hot breakfast before the weary, despondent soldier. 
Then she carefully shut the door, and drawing two bags of sil- 
ver from under her apron she held them out to her guest. 

" Take these," said she, " you need them and I can do with- 
out them." 

It was such noble-hearted women as Mrs. Elizabeth Steele who 
helped our men to keep up heart to the end. The honor shall 
be theirs so long as history lasts. 

At Guilford Court House, North Carolina, Cornwallis defeated 
the Americans (March 15, 1781), but he himself lost so heavily 
that he could not hold his ground, and had to retreat to Wilming- 
ton, North Carolina. 

He arrived there (April 7, 1781) in miserable plight, having 
lost about half of his small army by battle, sickness, or desertion. 
At Wilmington Cornwallis found, as he expected, some provisions 
and military supplies which a British expedition from Charleston 
had landed there ; but he also found what he did not expect,jhat 
was, news that Greene had suddenly gone back to attack the Eng- 
lish force under Lord Rawdon left at Camden, South Carolina. 
He was in no condition to wheel about and follow Greene. What, 
then, should he do ? He turned that question over and over in 
his mind ; finally he decided that his best plan was to march 
northward to Petersburg, Virginia. There he hoped to unite 
with the British force, conquer the state, and then go back 
and reconquer the ground he had lost. 

188. Greeners Campaign in South Carolina. — He started 
on his long march of 200 miles. Meanwhile Greene, with the aid of 
Marion, Sumter, and Pickens, had driven the British from Camden 
(May 10, 1 781). Then through the summer he struck the enemy 
blow after blow, and ended with a battle, which was practically a 
victory, at Eutaw Springs, South Carolina (September 8, 1781). 
After that the British — what there was left of them — fled to Charles- 
ton, shut themselves up there, and did not venture out. Greene 
had in fact won back the Carolinas ; and he had won them, thanks 



"^ 




CORNWALLIS SURRENDERS. 



I«3 



to the help given by Marion, Sumter, and Pickens, with an army 
which did not number more than about two thousand men. To ac- 
compHsh much with small means is a sure sign of greatness. Greene 
had done this, and Washington was the man who taught him. 

189. The Crowning Victory of the War. — Cornwallis 
reached Virginia, and after vainly pursuing Lafayette and destroy- 
ing millions of dollars' worth of property he entered Yorktown, on 
a narrow peninsula at the mouth of the York River. He went 
there not because be wanted to, but because he must. Cornwallis 
had been chasing Lafayette ; he boastingly said, " The boy can- 
not escape me." But " the boy," Lafayette, with a larger army 
had turned round and began chasing him. CornwaUis retreated 

to Yorktown (July 30,. 1781) to get 
help by sea from New York. There 
the British general fortified himself. 
He did not know it, but he was 
building his own prison — one that 
he would never get out of except 
by surrender. While he was waiting 
for soldiers to arrive from New York 
a French fleet of war-ships under 
Count de Grasse ^ was coming to 
block him in. Now was Washing- 
ton's chance to strike a tremen- 
dous blow. His plan was to march 
rapidly south from the Hudson to 
Yorktown, and with the help of the 
French fleet on one side and of 
Lafayette and his army on the other capture Cornwallis with his 
whole force. Such a move required a large amount of money 
for provisions, pay, and powder. Robert Morris^ came to the 
rescue and is said to have furnished nearly a million and a half 
of dollars for the good work. 

1 De Grasse (Deh Grahss). ^ See Paragraph 175. Prof. Sumner thinks that 
Morris furnished means of transportation and subsistence but not money. 




SCALE OP MILES 



50 



]UU 



150 



184 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY, 

Clinton, at the head of the British force in New York, thought 
Washington was getting ready to attack him. Washington en- 
couraged him to think so. He went on making every possible 
preparation for moving against New York. Even Washington's 
own army supposed that was his intention. When at length every- 
thing was ready Washington suddenly broke camp and marched 
his entire force with all possible speed across the country to the 
head of Chesapeake Bay and thence by vessels to Yorktown. 

Cornwallis looked over the walls of his fortified town. He saw 
the French fleet on one side, and the American army, sixteen 
thousand strong, on the other. He held out manfully for more than 
a week against solid shot, shell, red-hot balls. Then seeing that it 
was useless to struggle against fate he surrendered. His army 
marched out October 19, 1781, to the tune of "The World's Up- 
side Down " — it was true ; the British world in America was "up-"* 
side down," and the fall of Yorkto\\Ti practically ended the war 
of the Revolution. Washington had conquered. It was "the 
victory of a great and good man in a great and good cause." 

When the news reached London and was announced to Lord 
North, then the prime minister^ of the British government, he 
threw up his arms as though a cannon-ball had struck him, cried 
out wildly, " It is all over ! " and then resigned his office. 

190. Summary of the Revolution. — The king of England 
insisted on taxing the American colonies without their consent. 
The Americans refused to pay, and took up arms in defence of 
their rights as loyal English subjects. The king and his party 
endeavored to put down the rebelhon ; and on July 4, 1776, the 
colonists declared themselves independent of Great Britain. 

The war for independence then began. At Saratoga, in 1777, 
the Americans gained a great victory over Burgoyne. In conse- 
quence of that victory the king of France acknowledged the 
independence of the United States, and sent money, ships, and 
men to fight in our behalf. 

1 Prime minister : the king's chief adviser. 



GEORGE III.'S SPEECH. 1 85 

In 1 78 1, Washington, with the help of the French ships of war, 
defeated Cornwalhs at Yorktown, and took him prisoner with all 
his army. That decisive victory practically ended the Revolution, 
and not long after, the British gave up the contest. 

191. George III.*s Speech on the United States; Eng- 
land makes a Treaty of Peace with us ; the King's Meeting 
with John Adams. — At the opening of Parhament^ (17S2), the 
king, in a voice choked with emotion, announced that he was 
ready to acknowledge the independence of the United States. 
He closed his speech by saying that it was his earnest prayer that 
' rehgion, language, interest, and affection might prove a bond of 
permanent union between the two countries.' 

A final treaty of peace between Great Britain and this country 
was signed at Paris in 17S3.- It secured to us the thirteen states, 
with JNIaine, and the territory west of them to the Mississippi.^" 
Our first minister^ to England was John Adams of Massachusetts. 
The king said to him, *' Sir, I will be very free with you. I was 
the last to consent to the separation, but the separation having 
been made ... I have always said, as I say now, that I would 
be the first to meet the friendship^ of the United States as an 
independent power." '^ 

192. The American States Independent but not really 
United ; Congress destitute of Power. — But though America 
had won her independence, she had not secured harmony and 
union. While the war lasted the states fought like brothers, side 
by side ; now that tlie danger was over, they threatened to fall 
apart. We were hke a barrel made of thirteen stout staves, but 



1 See note i. page 151. 

2 The Revolution, from its first outbre;vk at Lexington (April 19, 1775) to the fin;U 
disbanding of the army (April 19. 17S3), lasted just eight yeai-s to a day. 

s In all, the treaty secured to us something over Soo.ooo square miles of territory. 
•♦ Minister: here the word means a person sent on public business by one 
government to another. 

6 Later, however, the king treated Mr. Adams very coldly. 
6 " Power " is here used for nation 01 people. , 



1 86 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

yet without a single hoop to hold us together. Under the Articles 
of Confederation of 1781 the nation had no President — no head. 
It had only a Congress, and that Congress was destitute of power. 
It might pass good and useful laws, but it could not compel the 
people to obey them. It might beg the people to give money, 
but it could not make them furnish it. It might ask for soldiers 
to defend the country, but it could not draft ^ them. 

193. Distressed Condition of the Country; Jealousy of 
the States; Lack of Freedom of Trade. — The truth is, that 
the people had come out of the war in a distressed condition. 
They were heavily in debt. Business was at a standstill. Gold 
and silver coin was scarce. The states had an abundance of paper 
stuff which pretended to be money, but nobody knew what it was 
worth, and what passed for a dollar in one state might not pass 
at all in another. Distress and discontent grew worse and worse. 
The states quarrelled with each other about boundary lines, about 
commerce, about trade. Instead of being a united and friendly 
people, they were fast getting to be thirteen hostile nations ready 
to draw the sword against each other. 

This feeling was shown in the fact that a man could not buy 
and sell freely outside of his own state. If, for instance, a farmer 
in New Jersey took a load of potatoes to New York, he might 
have to pay a tax of five or ten cents a bushel to that state before 
he could offer them for sale. On the other hand, if a New York 
merchant sent a case of boots to New Jersey to sell to the farmers, 
that state might, if it chose, tax him ten cents a pair before he 
could get a permit to dispose of his goods. 

194. ** Shays' Rebellion.*' — The people of Massachusetts 
were perhaps more heavily loaded with debt than those of any 
other state. It is said that they owed on the average two hundred 
dollars apiece. They were willing to pay, but could get nothing 
to pay with. When great numbers of poor people were sued and 

1 Draft : to compel men, chosen by lot, to do military service. 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. I87 

« 

thrown into prison, multitudes became desperate. In the western 
part of the state Daniel Shays raised an army of nearly two 
thousand excited farmers. They surrounded the court-houses at 
Worcester and Springfield, and put a stop to all lawsuits for debt. 
It was not until a strong military force was sent out against them 
that the " rebellion " was finally quelled, and Shays compelled to 
fly to New Hampshire. 

195. The Northwest Territory. — The most powerful influ- 
ence which kept the nation from dropping to pieces wa? ih' >■. 
fact that the states had an interest in the Northwest Terriiorv;'* 
Up to the middle of the Revolution, seven of the thirteen states 
claimed the country west of them as far as the Mississippi River.^ '■ 

Four of these states, — New York, Virginia,* Massachusetts, and 
Connecticut, — claiming land northwest of the Ohio River to the 
Mississippi, agreed (i 780-1 786) to give it to the United States to 
be disposed of for the common good. In 1787 Congress made 
an ordinance or body of laws for the government of this Northwest 
Territory. That ordinance forbade the holding of slaves in the 
territory (^though it made provision for returning fugitive slaves 
wno should escape to that region), and granted entire religious 
freedom to every settler. The states believed that Congress 
could sell lands in that vast region, — now forming the states 
of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Eastern 
Minnesota, — and thus get money to pay off the war debt of the 
Revolution.^ That belief helped to hold the country together. 



1 The seven states were Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia (but the claim of New York to a part of 
this territory rested on alleged treaties with the Iroquois Indians, and the other 
states did not regard it as well established). The remaining six states, of the thir- 
teen, had western boundaries that were practically fixed, and hence they could not 
directly claim any part of the territory, but they, of course, would have an interest 
in it — that is, in the result of the land sales — if the nation held together as one 
whole. For the Northwest Territory, see Map, page 187. 

2 It was provided that new states, of equal standing with the original thirteen, 
should be formed in this northwestern territory as soon as there was sufficient 
population in that region. * Virginia giving by far the greatest part. 



l88 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

196. The New Constitution. — Still, even with this hope to 
brighten the sky, the outlook was dark enough. Washington, 
Franklin, Madison, Hamilton — in a word, the ablest men of that 
day — thought the prospect anything but encouraging. It seemed 
to them that unless something was done promptly the new-born 
republic was likely to die in its cradle. 

At last (1787), a convention of fifty-five members was held 
in Philadelphia to make a new Constitution ^ — one that should 
" form a more perfect union." ^ Washington presided at this con- 
ention,"and a majority of the state legislatures sent their chief 
'"K-.n to take part in it. The convention held a secret session of 
!;^arly four months, and had many stormy debates before the arti- 
ci'js of the new Constitution could be agreed upon. At one time 
i*'ranklin and other eminent men nearly despaired of any success- 
ful result. At last the great work was accomplished,^ and the 

1 That is, a new set of laws for the government of the whole nation adopted in 
place of the Articles of Confederation. See p. 186 and appendix, p. vi ; and see p. 97. 

2 See the opening words of the Constitution, page vi (following this history). 

3 The first important question of debate was between the delegates from the 
small states and those from the large ones in regard to representatior'"r Congress. 
If the representation rested wholly on population then the large states wou..., ^[ 
course, have entire control. 

It was finally agreed that Congress should consist of two houses: i The House 
of Representatives chosen by the people of the different states and representing 
them. 2. The Senate, or Upper House, consisting of two members from each 
state. (See the Constitution, page vii, Section 3, Paragraph i.) In the Senate, 
therefore, the small states stand equal to the large ones. This arrangement satis- 
fied all. 

The second great question was whether slaves should be counted in reckoning 
the number of the population with reference to representation in Congress. The 
North insisted that they should not ; the South (where slaves were very numerous) 
that they should. The contest on this point was long and bitter. Finally it was 
agreed that three-fifths of the slaves should be counted with reference to both rep- 
resentation and taxation (though the slaves themselves were of course neither 
represented nor taxed). (See the Constitution, page vii. Section 2, Paragraph 3.) 
" Three-fifths of all other persons:' These *' other persons " were slaves. 

The last question was in regard to commerce and to protection of slaveholders. 
It was agreed that Congress should have the entire control of commerce (the 
states had had it before). (See the Constitution, page ix, Section 8, Paragraph 3.) 
In regard to slaves none were to be imported into the United States after 1808. 



THE CONSTITUTION. 



189 



)nstitution was adopted. After the convention had accepted the 
w Constitution, it was sent to the different states to be voted 
on by the people.^ Many of the people were strongly op- 
isedtoit. They thought 
gave the national gov- 
nment too much power, 
it in time all of the 
ites decided to adopt 
The man who did 
e most to convince them 
the wisdom of such a 
)urse was Alexander 
amilton of New York, 
hen the city of New 
Drk celebrated the adop- 
)n of the Constitution 
[788) a ship on wheels 
presenting the " Ship of 
;ate," or the Union,^ was 
rawn through the streets 
■/ ten milk-white horses, 
uamilton's name was 
ainted in large letters on 
le platform upholding 
le vessel. 




The "Ship of State." 



;ee the Constitution, page x, Section 9, Paragraph i; these slaves are called 
;uch persons," The word slave does not occur in the Constitution.) It was also 
;reed that runaway slaves should be returned to their owners. (See the Consti- 
tion, page xiv, Article IV., Section 2, Paragraph 3, " No person [i.e. slave] held 

service," etc.) 

If the compromise between the small states and the large, and the North and 
DUth, had not been made, the Constitution would have been rejected, and we 
lould in all probability have split up into two or three hostile republics. 

1 Delegates voted in state conventions called by the legislatures. 

2 See Longfellow's " Buildii;ig of the Ship," last part, lines beginning — 

" Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State! 
Sail on, O Union, strong and great! " 



190 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



197. What the Constitution did for the Country. — The 

Constitution accomplished these four chief objects : i. It gave the 
nation a head — the President of the United States — whose duty 
it is to see that the laws are executed.^ 2. It gave Congress 
power to raise money by taxation to carry on and defend the gov- 
ernment.^ 3. It gave every citizen of the United States equal 
rights in all the states, with liberty to buy and sell in all parts of 
the country. Thus entire freedom of trade was secured through- 
out the Union.^ 4. It established the Supreme Court of the 
United States, to decide all questions and disputes about the 
powers of the national government.* 

A few years later ten very important amendments were added 
to the Constitution.^ They were called a " Bill of Rights." They 
secured still further protection to the rights and Hberties of the 
people. For this reason many who had strongly opposed the origi- 
nal Constitution now gave it their hearty support. 

198. Summary. — The Revolution made us an independent 
people ; the Constitution completed the work by making us a 
united people — a true American nation. Now, to use the words 
of John Adams, ' the thirteen clocks all struck together.' 

1 Constitution, p. xi (II., i). 3 Constitution, p. x (9, Pars. 5, 6). 

'^ Constitution, p. ix (8, Pars, i, 12). ^ Constitution, p. xiii (III., 1, 2). 

s Amendments to the Constitution, p. xvi. 




Map showing the Westward Movement of Population in the United States from !790 to 
1890, inclusive. (See Note 2 on page 194.) 



NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. IQl 



V. , 

"This government, the offspring of your own choice, . . . adopted upon 
full investigation and mature deliberation, completely free in its principles, 
. , . and containing, within itself, a provision for its own amendment, has a 
just claim to your confidence and respect." — President Washington's Fare- 
well Address to the People of the United States, Septet7iber ly, ijgt. 



THE UNION. — NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. — 1 789-1 §60. 

* ' George Washington. 

199. Political Parties; Washington elected President 
(Two Terms, 1 789-1 797) ; his Inauguration; and Admin- 
istration.^ — There were now two poHtical parties in the United 
States : the Federalists ^ who had voted for the adoption of the 
Constitution ; and the Anti- Federalists^ who had voted against it. 
The first party beUeved that the country needed a strong govern- 
ment, — one able to make its power respected both at home and 
abroad ; the second party thought such a strong government danger- 
ous to the liberties of the people, and wished the chief power to be 
exercised by the different states. In the course of time this last 
class came to be known as the Democratic party ; ^ while the Fed- 
eralists were succeeded by the Whigs,^ and later by the Republicans. 

1 Administration: presidency. 

2 Federalists {from /(vdus, a Latin word, meaning a league or union), those who 
supported the union of states formed by the Constitution. 

3 Anti-Federalists (from the Latin words anti, against, and fcedus, league or 
union), those opposed to the Constitution until it was amended ; see page 190. 

4 The Democratic party was at first called Republican, or Democratic-Republi- 
can. Eventually the name got shortened to its present form. Care should be taken 
not to confound the early Republican (or Democratic) party with the modern Re- 
publican party which did not come into existence until 1856. 

5 After the Federal party expired (between 1815 and 1825), it was succeeded by 
one called the National Republican; this was followed in 1835 by the Whig party, 
and this in 1856 by the present Republican party. 



192 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Both parties united in electing Washington to be the first Presi- 
dent of the United States (1789-1793) j and when, at the end of 
four years, his term of office expired, they again united to re-elect 
him (i 793-1 797). In both cases John Adams was chosen Vice- 
President. New York City was then the capital of the country,^ and 
Washington was to be inaugurated^ there on March 4 (1789) the 
day the new Constitution went into operation ; but the ceremony 
was delayed until April 30. The President took the oath of office,^ 
standing on the balcony of a building in front of Federal Hall,^ 
the hall where Congress met, in the presence of an immense 
multitude. There, amidst ringing of bells and firing of cannon, a 
great shout went up : " Long live George Washington, President 
of the United States ! " 

200. Washington's Cabinet ; how the Government raised 
Money. — Washington chose five eminent men to aid him in the 
discharge of his presidential duties. They were Thomas Jefferson, 
the author of the Declaration of Independence ;* Alexander Ham- 
ilton ; ^ General Henry Knox ; ''' Edmund Randolph ; ® and John 

1 By Act of Congress the national capital was established at Philadelphia from 
1790 to 1800. In 1800 it was permanently located at the city of Washington, on 
land given for that purpose by the states of Virginia and Maryland. 

2 Inaugurated : introduced into office (made President) with solemn and appro- 
priate ceremonies. 

3 The following is the oath taken by the President: "/ do solemnly swear [or 
affirni) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States; 
and, to the best of my abMity, preserve^ protect, and defend the Constitution of the 
United States." 

4 Federal Hall (the old City Hall) : it stood on the northeast corner of Wall 
and Nassau streets, on ground now occupied by the United States Sub-Treasury 
Building. 

6 Thomas Jefferson was appointed Secreta/y of State ; his duties were to attend 
to the foreign business and relations of the government. 

6 Alexander Hamilton of New York (see Paragraph 196) was appointed Secre- 
tary of the Treasury. 

■* General Knox of Massachusetts (see Paragraph 165) was appointed Secretary 
of War. 

* Edmund Randolph ol Virginia was appointed Attorney- General; his duty was 
to give the government advice in law matters. 



PAYING OUR JUST DEBTS. I93 

Jay.^ The first four were members of the President's Cabinet, or 
private council. These men did not all agree with Washington in 
political matters j but they all reverenced him, and they were 
ready, Hke him, to do their utmost to promote the welfare and 
prosperity of the country. 

The new government had no money ; but a government can no 
more hope to live and pay its bills without money than you or I 
can. In order to obtain funds. Congress (1789) imposed a duty 
or tax on all foreign ships and on many foreign goods entering 
our ports. Thus, if a French vessel of six hundred tons loaded 
with wine came into New York, the owners would have to pay a 
duty of fifty cents a ton — or three hundred dollars on the vessel, 
and eighteen cents a gallon on the wine. Other articles, such as 
tea, silk, and sugar, were charged different rates. 

201. Paying our Just Debts. — By this duty, or revenue-tariff, 
as it was called, a very large amount of money was obtained. Ham- 
ilton, who was Secretary of the Treasury, got permission from Con- 
gress (i 790) to use all of this money, not needed for the expenses 
of the government, to do three things : i. To pay back to France 
and to other countries what we had borrowed of them during the 
Revolution. 2. To pay the debts we owed at home to our soldiers, 
and to those who had lent money to the government during the war. 
3. To pay the debts which the different states were owing to their 
own citizens.^ Hamilton's wise and honest dealing put the credit 
of the United States on a sure foundation ; it enabled us to pay 
debts amounting to nearly six millions of dollars, and to provide 
for the payment of many milhons more. From that day to this, 
we have always been able to borrow all the money we wanted. 

202. The First Census ; Establishment of a United States 
Bank and a Mint. — Meanwhile (1790), the first census was 



1 John Jay of New York, one of the commissioners who, with Franklin, had 
secured and signed the treaty of peace with Great Britain (1783) . He was appointed 
Chief Justice, or head of the Supreme Court of the United States. 

2 That is, debts incurred in carrying on the war. 



194 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN TTTSTORY. 

taken. It showoii that we had a population of nearly four millions.* 
It also showed that nearly the whole body of people lived along 
the Atlantic sea-coast, on a strip of country about two hundred 
and fifty miles wide. Since then, the population has doubled, 
on the average, every twenty-five years, and has moved steadily 
westward. ■ 

Within two years after taking the census Congress established a 
United States bank (1791) and a mint at Philadelphia (1792). 
Both supplied the country with a kind of money, which, unlike that 
in circulation before, could be used throughout tlie states. This 
was an immense help to all business men. 

With the opening of the mint we began our decimal system 
of coinage, — ten cents make a dime, ten dimes a dollar, — a 
system so clear, simple, and convenient, that the time is probably 
not very far distant when England, and every leading country of 
Europe which has not already adopted it, will do so. 

203. Arrival of ''Citizen" Genet; Washington's Procla- 
mation of Neutrality. — During Washington's presidency France 
was engaged in a terrible revolution. The people had declared 
themselves a republic, and beheaded their king. This led to a 
war between France and England. The French sent a minister^ 
to this country to get help toward fighting the English. ''Citizen" 
Genet,^ as he was styled, — for, having abolished all titles of honor 
and respect, the French could not endure even so simple a title as 
Mr., — came here expecting to obtain ships, money, and aid from 
the government. Thousands of our people welcomed him with wild 
enthusiasm. Washington, however, knew that if " Citizen " Genet 
was allowed to have his way, we should soon be dragged into a war 

1 In 1776 we had, it was supposed, about 2,750,000. 

2 In 1790, the centre of population (that is, the geographical point where the 
population is equal in number in all directions) was about twenty-five miles east 
of Baltimore. It has since moved westward, on nearly the same parallel, at the 
rate of about fifh' miles every ten years. See Map, page 190. 

3 Minister: see note 3, on page 1S5. 
* Gen^t (Zhen-ay'). 



EMIGRATION TO THE WEST. I95 

with England, at a time when such a war would have been terribly 
disastrous to us. The President therefore issued a proclamation 
of neutrality, stating that we should take no part in European 
quarrels. This proclamation so maddened the excitable Genet 
that he endeavored to stir up a mob in Philadelphia, to pull Wash- 
ington from his seat of office, overturn the government of the 
[Jnited States, and set up one more in accordance with his French 
tastes. The result was that, at Washington's protest, France recalled 
her minister, and nothing m6re was heard of him. 

204. Emigration to the West; Cincinnati. — Meanwhile, a 
great movement of population had begun toward the country west 
of the Alleghanies — that section in which Washington had so 
deep an interest.^ Daniel Boone, the famous hunter of North 
Carolina, with his bold companions, had already chopped a nar- 
row path across the wilderness to Kentucky ; and by the begin- 
ning of the Revolution the Americans had got a firm foothold in 
that fertile region. Emigrants crossed the mountains, and in spite 
of the Indians, who were finally driven back,* formed settlements 
on tlie rich lands of the Ohio valley. Marietta, on that river, was 
already established ( 1 788) . A cluster of log huts, which had been 
built further down the river in the same year, now ( 1 790) received 
the name of Cincinnati.'^ There, not long after (1793), the first 
Western newspaper was published,^ and the corner-stone laid of 
the state of Ohio, the first of all that magnificent group of states 
formed from the Northwest Territory^ which were one by one to 
knock at the doors of Congress and ask admission to the Union. 

205. Whitney invents the Cotton-Gin; Results. — The 
year (1793) that the printing-press in that enterprising log city of 
the West began sending out its weekly budget of news, a great event 

1 See Paragraph 139. * General Wayne (see Paragraph 183), "the chief 
who never sleeps," defeated the Indians near Toledo in 1794, and they gave up a 
large territory to the United States. 

2 Cincinnati : named in honor of the Society of the Cincinnati, an order estab- 
lished by the officers of the Revolutionary array, headed by Washington. 

3 The Centinel of the Northwest — Cincinnati, 1793. ■* See Paragraph 195, 



196 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



occurred at the South. Eli Whitney, of Massachusetts, but then 
living in Georgia, invented the cotton-gin.^ Whitney's invention has 
had more influence on the industry, wealth, and political history of 
this country than any other labor-saving machine ever constructed 
in America. Up to that time, small quantities of cotton had been 
raised at the South ; but it was of little use, for no practical method 
had then been contrived of freeing the cotton fibre, or wool, from 
the multitude of seeds it contains. By working a whole day, a 

negro could clean only about 
a pound. This made cotton 
so expensive that none but 
the rich could buy it. Now, 
everything was changed. By 
the use of Whitney's machine 
one man could clean in a 
single day a thousand pounds. 
The result was soon seen. In 
1 784 we had exported eight 
bags, or about three thousand 
pounds, of cotton to Liver- 
pool. The cotton was seized 
by the English custom- 
house officers, on the ground 
that the United States could not have produced such a "pro- 
digious quantity," and that the captain of the vessel must have 
smuggled it from some other country. Ten years after Whitney had 
put his machine into operation (1803) we were exporting over one 
hundred thousand bags of cotton, or more than forty millions of 
pounds, and every year saw an enormous increase. The effect at 
home was equally marked. Hundreds of cotton-mills for the man- 
ufacture of cotton cloth were built in New England. At the South 
the raising of cotton became immensely profitable, and planters 
gave more and more land to it. Up to this period, many men in 
both sections of the country had deplored the holding of slaves. 




The Cotton-Gin. 



1 Gin : a contraction of the word engine, meaning a machine. 



THE WHISKEY REBELLION. 1 97 

They had earnestly discussed how to rid the country ot what was 
felt to be both an evil in itself and a danger to the nation. The 
invention of the cotton-gin put a stop to this discussion in great 
measure ; for now the Southern planters and the Northern manufac- 
turers of cotton both found it for their interest to keep the negro m 
bondage, since by his labor they were rapidly growing rich. Few, 
even of the ablest minds of that time, realized what we all see to- 
day : that in the end free labor is cheaper, safer, and better than any 
other.-^ To sum up : Whitney's great invention of 1 793 did four 
things : I . It stimulated the production of cotton and made it 
one of the leading industries of the country. 2. It increased our 
exports enormously. 3. It caused the building of great numbers of 
cotton-mills at the North. 4. It made a large class, both North 
and South J interested in maintaining slave-labor. 

206. The Whiskey Rebellion^ — During Washington's second 
term of office, the government, finding that it needed more money, 
imposed (i 794) a heavy duty or tax on the manufacture of whiskey. 
The rough Pennsylvania backwoodsmen were in the habit of dis- 
tilling large quantities of that liquor, which was then freely used by 
all classes and conditions of men. The whiskey producers refused 
to pay the duty, tarred and feathered one officer sent to collect it, 
and gave a second a tremendous flogging with beech rods. Then 
they proceeded to arm themselves in order to resist the law. 
Washington sent an army of fifteen thousand men, mostly Pennsyl- 

1 Whitney received fifty thousand dollars for his invention from South Carohna, 
besides something from several other Southern States. Other notable American in- 
ventors of this period were : i. Oliver Evans of Newport, Delaware, who, about 1780, 
invented the gram-elevator, and made such improvements in milling that he 
" effected a revolution in the manufacture of flour." In 1803 he constructed the 
first steam dredge for deepening the channels ot rivers. 2. Jacob Perkins of New- 
buryport, Massachusetts, invented (1790) the first practical nail-machine — it was 
capable of cutting out two hundred thousand nails a day. Formerly all nails were 
made by hand. Later, he invented a greatly improved machine for calico-printing. 
3. Asa Whittemore of Cambridge, Massachusetts, invented (1797) a machine for 
making wire cards for carding wool, ' which operated, and still continues to operate, 
as it It had a soul.' 



198 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

vanians, to teach them how to behave. When the whiskey distillers 
and their friends caught sight of the muskets, they prudently dis- 
persed. They saw that if any shooting was to be done the Presi- 
dent could do a good deal more than they could. There was no 
more trouble. 

207. Jay's Treaty with England. — The treaty of peace 
with Great Britain, made in 1 783, had not been satisfactorily carried 
out by either party. We had promised to pay certain debts due 
to British subjects, and they complained that we did not keep our 
word. On the other hand, England persisted in holding forts at 
Detroit and elsewhere along our northern frontier, though she had 
agreed to give them up to us. The Enghsh also interfered with 
our trade with France.^ Chief- Justice Jay- went to England and 
obtained a new treaty (1795). ^^ ^^^ ^^- satisfy the people, who 
thought that the English were getting the best of the bargain. 
Washington, however, signed the treaty for the reason that he, like 
Jay, considered that we were not then able to demand anything bet- 
ter. Certain newspapers attacked him and Jay in the most violent 
manner, and Washington, worn out with their abuse, declared that 
" he would rather be in his grave than in the presidency." But 
the majority of the people stood firmly by the man who had 
brought them through so many dangers, and the treaty ^ was duly 
confirmed by Congress. When Washington retired from office — 
refusing to be a candidate for a third term — he left the nation in 
every way stronger and more prosperous than he had found it ; 
and with the three new states of Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennes- 
see added to the Union. 

1 This was while France and England were at war. The English seized Ameri- 
can vessels loaded with grain for French ports and took them mto English ports. 
They paid for the cargo, or else permitted the Americans to sell them to countries 
at peace with Great Britain, Our complaint was that England had no right to 
interfere in any way with our commerce. 

3 See Paragraph 20a 

* See Fisher Ames's speech in favor of the Jay or " British ' Treaty. 



SUMMARY. 199 

208. Summary. — Washington, the first President of the United 
States, held office for two terms (i 789-1 797). During that time 
he, with his Cabinet,^ got the new government into practical opera- 
tion, and through the wise counsel of Hamilton, our national credit 
was solidly established. Washington's efforts prevented the nation 
from getting entangled in European wars at a time when our great- 
est need was peace. Three new states had been added ; Marietta 
and Cincinnati had taken firm root, and the vigorous life of the 
West had begun. Whitney's invention of the cotton-gin had an 
immense effect on manufacturing and commerce, greatly increasing 
the wealth of both North and South, but unfortunately it also fas- 
tened slave labor on the country. 

John Adams. 

209. Adams's Administration^ (Second President, One Term, 
1797-1801); the **X. Y. Z. Papers.** — Mr. Adams's 'presidency 
began with strong prospects of war with France. The French 
were enraged because we did not take sides with them in their con- 
test with Great Britain.^ They captured our merchant vessels, sold 
them openly in French ports, and insulted the statesmen sent by 
us to France to represent the United States. Finally, certain 
private agents of the French authorities made demands threat- 
ening war unless we bribed them with m.oney — "much money" — 
to keep peace. Pinckney, one of our representatives in France, 



1 Cabinet : see Paragraph 200. 2 Administration : presidency. 

3 John Adams was born in Braintree, near Boston, in 1735 ; died 1826. Thomas 
Jefferson said of him that "he was the ablest advocate and champion of independ- 
ence " in the Congress of 1776. He was one of the commissioners who negotiated 
the treaty of peace with Great Britain at the close of the Revolution ; and he was 
shortly after sent as minister from the United States to England. He was elected 
by the Federalists (see Paragraph 199) by only three electoral votes over Thomas 
Jefferson, the Republican (or Democratic) candidate (Adams had 71 votes, Jeffer- 
son 68). Mr. Adams used to call himself "the President of three votes." Ac- 
cording to the law (since changed), the candidate for President getting the largest 
vote next to the one elected was made Vice-President. This law gave that office 
to Jefferson. 

4 See Paragraph 203. 



200 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

indignant at such treatment, replied, " Millions for defence ; not 
one cent for tribute."^ President Adams, substituting the letters 
X. Y. Z. for the names of the French agents, sent a full report 
of the demands to Congress. The X. Y. Z. papers roused the 
whole country, and Pinckney's defiant words were echoed through- 
out America — for sooner than spend a single copper in buying 
peace we were ready to fight at any cost. War soon broke out, 
and our sailors, with shouts of " Hail Columbia," — the new song 
which every American was then singing, — fought and captured 
several French vessels. When Napoleon Bonaparte came into 
power in France (1799), he speedily made peace. 

210. The Alien and the Sedition Laws ; Death of Wash- 
ington. — Several of the American newspapers were edited by 
foreigners, or by men who sympathized with France and were 
anxious to force us into a war with England. To put a stop to 
their constant abuse of the government. Congress, through the 
influence of Mr. Adams, unwisely passed (1798) the Alien and 
the Sedition Laws. The Alien Law gave the President the power 
to banish any alien or foreigner from the country whose influence 
he thought dangerous to our welfare.^ The Sedition Law under- 
took to punish persons who should speak, write or publish any- 
thing false or malicious against the President or the government 
of the United States. Lender this last-named law several persons 
were heavily fined, and at least one was imprisoned. The legis- 
latures of Kentucky and Virginia denounced both the Alien and 
the Sedition Laws as dangerous and contrary to the Constitution. 
They furthermore declared that should the President persist in 
enforcing them, the states would have the right to refuse to obey 
his commands. Both laws soon passed out of existence ; but the 
idea that states might resist the national government, if they saw 

1 Tribute : money paid by one nation to another as a token of submission, or 
for the purpose of procuring protection or favor. 

* The President never enforced the Alien Law, and no one was banished from 
the country. 



SUMMARY. 20I 

fit, was destined to make trouble many years later, and in the end 
was to result in civil war. During this excitement in regard to 
these unpopular laws, Washington (1799) died at his home at 
Mount Vernon. The whole country united to do honor to the 
memory of him who was " first in war, first in peace, and first 
in the hearts of his fellow-citizens"; Bonaparte ordered public 
mourning for him in France, and Lord Bridport, commander of a 
British fleet of nearly sixty men-of-war, lying off the coast of Eng- 
land, testified his respect by ordering his flags to be lowered to 
half-mast. 

211. Summary. — The four chief events of Adams's presidency 
were the excitement caused by the "X. Y. Z." papers, followed 
by war on sea with France ; the passage of the Alien and the Sedi- 
tion Laws denounced by Kentucky and Virginia, and the death 
of Washington. 

Thomas Jefferson. 

212. Jefferson^s Administration' (Third President, Two 
Terms, 1801-1809) ; *< Republican Simplicity"; the New 
National CapitaL — The new President was a Democrat^ — a 

1 Administration : see note i, page 191. 

2 Thomas Jefferson was born 1743, at Shadwell, Virginia; died 1826. He was 
a member of the Continental Congress and drafted the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence, and drew up the Act of Religious Freedom adopted by Virginia through 
Madison's influence (see page 210, note i) in 1785. He proposed our present 
decimal system of coinage and secured its acceptance. In 1785 he was sent to 
France to succeed Franklin as minister of the United States. On his tombstone 
is the following epitaph written by himself: " Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, 
author of the Declaration of Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious 
Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia." The presidential election of 
November, 1800, was a time of great excitement, and of bitter strife between the 
Federalists and the Republicans (or Democrats. See Paragraph 199). Thomas 
Jefferson of Virginia and Aaron Burr of New Jersey were the Republican candi- 
dates. Each received 73 electoral votes; while John Adams, the Federalist can- 
didate, got but 65. In such a case the House of Representatives — a majority of 
whom were Federalists — had to decide the election; they finally voted in favor of 
Jefferson; and he was declared President, with Burr for Vice-President (for accord- 
ing to the law then the candidate for President who received the greatest number 



202 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

man who took his stand with the people. In dress/ manners, and 
ideas he was quite different from the FederaUst Presidents, Wash* 
ington and Adams. They both thought it proper for the head 
of the nation to stand a little apart from the people ; and though 
both were opposed to monarchy, yet they kept up something of 
the dignity and ceremony of a king. Jefferson preferred, on the 
contrary, " republican simplicity " in all things, and was ready to 
receive and shake hands with any one and every one that wanted 
to shake hands with him. 

Jefferson took the oath of office ^ in the new capitol, which was 
ridiculed as a " palace in the woods." It stood on a hill in the 
" city of Washington," then nothing but a straggling village of a 
few hundred inhabitants. Washington, for whom it was named, 
had himself chosen the ground for the city ten years before. 
Many people preferred Philadelphia, thinking that the new national 
capital was too far west. 

213. What was thought of the Probable Extent of the 
Republic. — Eminent men of that day thought it very doubtful 
whether the American republic could extend into the wilderness 
beyond the Alleghany Mountains. Many agreed with them, and 
believed that in time the country would be divided into several 
nations — for it seemed impossible to them that a territory reaching 
from the Atlantic to the Mississippi could be efficiently and safely 
governed by a single President. When we consider that there were 
then no steamboats, canals, or railroads, to bind the states together, 
and in fact very few good ordinary roads, it does not seem so 
strange that men of sound judgment should have thought so. 

of votes next to those of the successful candidate, became Vice-President. This 
period marks the downfall of the Federalists ; for the next forty years the Dem- 
ocrats held control. 

1 It was about this time that a marked change took place in men's dress, and 
breeches and long stockings began to give way to trousers — a product of the 
French Revolution. The British minister, Mr. Merry, says Jefferson wore " panta^ 
loons and slippers " when he received him„ 

'^ See page 192, note 3. 



THE PIRATES OF TRIPOLI, 203 

214. The Pirates of Tripoli ; they declare War against 
the United States ; the Result. — For many years Tripoli and 
other towns on the north coast of Africa had been nests of pirates. 
The people were Mohammedans, and they were in the habit of 
sending out fast-saihng armed vessels to capture the ships of Chris- 
tians coming to the Mediterranean to trade. 

European nations had made repeated efforts to break up this 
system of robbery, but had not succeeded. Even Great Britain 
was obliged to pay the governors of Algiers and Tripoli large sums 
of money every year in order to protect her commerce in that quar- 
ter of the globe. During Washington and Adams's presidencies 
the United States, having no ships of war worth mentioning, had 
to buy the good will of these pirates. At one time we paid the 
ruler of Tripoli twenty thousand dollars a year to let our merchant 
vessels sail the Mediterranean in peace. But even this did not 
satisfy him, and we had to give him costly presents, and purchase 
the liberation of many of our sailors whom the people of Tripoli 
had seized, held as slaves, and worked like beasts of burden under 
the lash. It had cost us a million, part given by government and 
part contributed in collections taken up in the churches on Sun- 
day, merely to get these unfortunate men restored to their homes 
and friends. Just before Jefferson became President, the gov- 
ernor of Tripoli, disappointed because we did not yield to his de- 
mands and give him a still larger tribute, declared war against the 
United States. Jefferson was a man of peace, but he beHeved 
with Benjamin FrankHn that, " if you make yourself a sheep, 
the wolves will eat you." He thought we had been sheep long 
enough. We now had a small fleet of war-ships commanded by 
such men as Bainbridge, Decatur, and Preble. The President 
sent them out to Tripoli, and they soon made the ruler of that 
place- confess his sins and beg for mercy. 

The Pope declared that the Americans had done more toward 
punishing the insolent power of the Mohammedan pirates than all 
the nations of Europe put together. The result of the war was 
that the people of TripoHwere glad to make a new treaty (1805) 



204 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

with the United States. By it they agreed to let our merchant 
ships and sailors alone in future, without asking pay for their good 
behavior to us. 

215. Purchase of the Territory of Louisiana. — While this 
war with Tripoli was going on, the greatest event of Jefferson's 
presidency occurred. France owned the territory of Louisiana,' 
including New Orleans. Napoleon Bonaparte, who was then about 
to engage in a tremendous contest with England, was afraid that 
when war broke out the English would send over a fleet and 
take Louisiana out of his hands. For that reason he was willing 
to sell it to the United States — especially as the money would 
help him to fit out his armies against Great Britain. President 
Jefferson bought (1803) the whole territory for fifteen millions of 
dollars. By so doing he got the very heart of the American con- 
tinent, reaching from the J\Iississippi back to the Rocky Moun- 
tains. He thus, at one stroke, more than doubled the area of 
the United States, getting upwards of a million of square miles, 
or over six hundred millions of acres, for two cents and a half 
an acre. There were people who grumbled at the purchase, 
— some denying that he had the right to make it, — but the 
majority heartily supported the President. He himself con- 
fessed that he had stretched his power " till it cracked," in 
order to complete the bargain. In reality Jefferson showed his 
statesmanship in the act. The possession of Louisiana secured 
to us four most important points: i. It prevented any disputes 
with France about the territory. 2. It prevented England from 
getting control of it. 3. It gave us the Great West — that is, the 
West beyond the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains. 4. It made 
us masters of the entire ]Mississippi River, with the city of New 
Orleans to boot. 

1 Just before the close of the great war between England and France in 1763, 
France ceded Louisiana with New Orleans to her ally, Spain. In 1801 Spain 
ceded them back to France. 



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EXPLORATION OF THE FAR WEST. 205 

2i6. Lewis and Clarke's Exploration of the Far West, 

— The next year (1804) the President sent out an expedition 
under Lewis and Clarke ^ to explore the new territory. They 
started from St. Louis (May 14, 1804), then nothing but a little 
village of log-cabins, and worked their way up the Missouri in 
boats, until they reached (July 19, 1805) what they called the 
" Gates of the Rocky Mountains," ^ a tremendous cleft in the rocks 
where the river bursts through. This point is over twelve hundred 
miles from St. Louis,* and it had taken the explorers more than 
a year to get to it. Then, making their way across the mountains, 
they found the head- waters of a stream flowing westward. Launch- 
ing their canoes (October 7, 1805) on its rapid current, they 
floated down till they reached a broad and still more rapid river. 
Down this they drifted till they came at last (November 7, 1805) 
to its mouth. A dense fog hid everything. When it lifted, they 
found themselves within sight of the Pacific Ocean. The river 
they had descended was that which Captain Robert Gray of Bos- 
ton^ had entered from the Pacific a number of years before (1791), 
and had named the Columbia. 

Lewis and Clarke returned the next year (September 23, 1806) 
to St. Louis. They had been absent nearly two years and a halt 
and had travelled in all over eight thousand miles, in boats, on 
horseback, and on foot. To-day we have books of travel by 
scores, but not one of them is more interesting than the account 
of Lewis and Clarke's remarkable expedition. It gave the people 
of this country their first idea of the immense extent, unlimited 

1 Lieutenant William Clarke, brother of the brave soldier (see Paragraph 182), 
who conquered the Illinois and Indiana territory for the United States during the 
Revolution. * In a direct line ; by the river the distance is very much greater. 

2 The " Gates of the Rocky Mountains " are near the point where Helena, the 
capital of Montana, is now situated. A short distance above, the Jefferson, Gal- 
latin, and Madison rivers unite to form the Missouri. Ascending the Jefferson to 
its source, they crossed the Rocky Mountains and embarked on a branch of the 
Snake or Lewis River, which flows into the Columbia. 

3 Captain Robert Gray, born in Tiverton, Rhode Island. He named the river 
from his vessel, the Columbia. Captain Gray was the first man to carry the Ameri- 
can flag round the globe. 



206 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

natural wealth, and almost fabulous wonders of the Far West. The 
expedition had also another result of great importance : it enabled 
the United States to claim the Oregon territory, which Lewis and 
Clarke had been the first to explore.^ 

217. Effect of the French and English War on the United 
States; The Leopard and the Chesapeake, — During all this 
time France and England continued at war. Each of these na- 
tions forbade the United States to trade with the other. This in 
itself was disastrous to our commerce ; but, as if this was not 
enough, England insisted on stopping our vessels on the ocean 
and searching them for British sailors. Unless a man could prove 
that he was an xVmerican by birth, the English seized him — espe- 
cially if he was an able-bodied seaman — and compelled him to 
enter their sendee. In this way they had helped themselves, in 
spite of our protests, to several thousand men, whom they forced 
to fight for them on board their ships of war. Finally (1S07), the 
British man-of-war Leopard stopped the Chesapeake^ one of our 
war-vessels, at a time when the latter could make no effectual 
resistance, and seized four of her men, one of whom they hanged 
as a deserter. 

218. The Embargo and the Non-Intercourse Acts. — Con- 
gress passed the Embargo- Act (1807) to put an end to these 
outrages. The Embargo forbade any American vessel's sailing 
from one of our ports — even a fishing-smack found it difficult to 
leave Boston to get mackerel.^ Congress hoped that by stopping 

1 Five years later (1811) John Jacob Astor of New York established a fur-trading 
port called Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia River. In connection with the 
government he planned the extension of a line of trading-posts of different kinds 
west from the Great Lakes to the Pacific, and thence to the Sandwich Islands and 
China. The war of 1812 put a stop to this immense undertaking. Mr. Astor em- 
barked in other enterprises, which brought him in wealth. He became the greatest 
capitalist in America. He died in 1848, leaving a property of twenty million dol- 
lars, which has since increased enormously. 

2 Embargo : an order by the government forbidding ships to leave port 

3 Coasting and fishing vessels might sail by special permission. 



BURR TRIED FOR TREASON. 20/ 

all trade with Europe we should starve France and England into 
treating us with respect. 

But we did not starve them ; our exports fell off forty millions 
of dollars in a single year, and the loss of trade caused great 
distress and discontent. 

At last New England grew desperate ; there seemed danger of 
rebellion, possibly of disunion, if the Embargo Act was not repealed. 
Congress did repeal it ; and (1809) passed an act called the Non- 
Intercourse Act,^ which forbade the people to trade with Great 
Britain and France, but gave them liberty to trade with other for- 
eign countries. But though our exports rose, yet many men who 
had been engaged in commerce turned their attention now to 
manufacturing. This was one of the important results of the Non- 
Intercourse Act, since many of the manufactories of the country 
had their beginning at that time.^ 

219. Burr tried for Treason. — Meanwhile (1807), Aaron 
Burr, the former Vice-President of the United States,^ was tried 
for treason.* Burr had shot Hamilton,^ his political opponent, in 
a duel. That act, hardly different from downright murder, brought 
him into disgrace. Later, Burr planned an enterprise for con- 
quering Texas, which was then part of ]\Iexico, and belonged to 
Spain. He hoped to draw some of the Western states to join 
him, and so to set up an independent nation in the Southwest, 
with New Orleans for its capital, he, of course, to be its chief 
ruler. Burr's guilt could not be proved, and he was permitted 

1 Non-Intercourse : from Non, a Latin word meaning not ; and Intercourse 
(here, meaning commerce or trade) , hence a law forbidding trade. 

2 Later, Congress imposed new and heavier duties on many foreign goods, in 
order to enable the American makers to manufacture similar goods in this country, 
which it was thought they could not do at a profit if the foreign goods came in 
free. 3 gee page 201, note 2. 

4 Treason : an attempt to overthrow the government or break up the Union by 
force of arms. Burr was indicted for treason on the ground that he or his party 
intended to seize New Orleans by force of arms. This charge of treason was set 
aside by the court for the reason that the Constitution did not uphold it. (See the 
Constitution, page xiii, Section 3). 5 See page 189. 



208 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



to go free. He lived to be a very old man, and died at last in 
obscurity and poverty in New York. 

220. ** Fulton's Folly.'* — In the summer of the same year, 
1807, Robert Fulton^ launched his newly invented steamboat 
on the Hudson. He gave notice that he should start from New 
York City for Albany. Up to that date, all the trade and travel 
on the river had been either by sailing-vessels or row-boats. Men 
called the steamboat " Fulton's Folly." Thousands gathered at 

the wharf (August it, 1807), to laugh 
and jeer at the expected failure of the 
invention. 

The steamboat — the Clennont — 
was a rude affair, with uncovered pad- 
dle-wheels and clumsy machinery. 
Men said that she was as " helpless as 
a log." Presently the paddles began 
to revolve. Then the " log " was no 
longer helpless. "She moves!" 
" She moves ! " shouted the aston- 
ished crowd. Sure enough, she did 
move ; and she kept on moving against 
The "Ciernont- \yQ^\^ ^yj^d and currcut, going steadily 

up stream, until, in thirty-two hours, she reached Albany. Sailors 
on the Hudson, seeing this puffing monster coming up the river 
after dark, sending out a shower of sparks from her smoke-pipe, 
were frightened almost out of their senses. Many who had never 
prayed before, ran below, and begged, on their knees, to be saved 
from the Evil One. 

In a few years, Fulton's great invention made a complete 

1 Robert Fulton, born in Fulton, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1765. He 
was of Irish descent. John Fitch of Windsor, Connecticut, had invented a steam- 
boaf many years before, and tried in vain to get Benjamin Franklin to help him 
make it a success. In 1798 he became discouraged, and committed suicide. In 
his journal he left these words : " The day will come when some more powerful 
man will get fame and riches from my invention." 




SUMMARY. 209 

change in modes of travel. Steamboats were put on the Ohio, 
the Mississippi, and the Great Lakes, and had a most important 
influence in helping to open up and to settle the western part of 
the United States. A number of years later (1819), the Savan- 
nah — the first ocean steamship — started from Savannah, Georgia, 
and crossed the Atlantic. Thus the honor of accomplishing that 
great feat belongs to a Southern state. She set the example which 
Great Britain was to follow twenty years later. 

221. The Importation of Slaves forbidden. — The year of 
Fulton's triumph (1807), Congress put a stop to the importation 
of slaves into the United States.^ The law had the hearty support 
of the President. He, like Washington and most leading men of 
that day at the South, was a slaveholder. But, like Washington 
and hundreds of other influential Southerners, he hoped that 
the country would find some peaceful means of freeing the 
negroes.^ Jefferson, in particular, was beloved by his slaves, and 
would gladly have given them their liberty, if he could have 
clearly seen how to do it. He continued to hold them, as many 
other good men did, but he said, " I tremble for my country, when 
I reflect that God is just." 

222. Summary. — Jefferson was the first Democratic Presi- 
dent. He purchased the territory of Louisiana, thereby more 
than doubHng the area of the United States, and sent Lewis and 
Clarke to explore the country to the Pacific. During Jefferson's 
administration,^ Fulton invented the first practicable steamboat, 
and established steam navigation on the Hudson j the pirates of 
Tripoli and Algiers were conquered ; the importation of slaves 
was stopped ; and the Embargo and the Non-Intercourse acts 
passed restraining our foreign trade on account of trouble with 
Great Britain and France. 

1 After January 1, 1808. See note 3, page 188. 

2 When slavery was prohibited in the Northwest Territory, in 1787 (see Paragraph 
195) , every Southern member of Congress voted in favor of the prohibition. 

8 See note i, page 191. 



210 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

James Madison. 

223. Madison's Administration (Fourth President, Two 
• Terms, 1809-18 17) ; Re-opening of Trade with Great Britain. 

— When Madison ^ became President, Great Britain and France 
were actively at war, and our ships were still forbidden by Act of 
Congress ^ to trade with either country. The President was anx- 
ious to re-open commerce with one or both. The British minister^ 
at Washington gave Madison to understand that England would 
let our vessels sail the seas unmolested, if we would promise to 
send our wheat, rice, cotton, fish, and other exports to her and 
her friends, but refuse them to her enemy, France. The agree- 
ment was made. More than a thousand of our vessels, loaded 
with grain and other American products, were waiting impatiently 
for the President to grant them liberty to sail for Great Britain. 
He spoke the word, and they ' spread their white wings like a 
flock of long-imprisoned birds, and flew out to sea.' A great 
shout of joy went up from the people ; farmers, merchants, ship- 
owners, — all believed that the fleet of vessels that had gone forth 
would return to fill thousands of empty pockets with welcome 
dollars. But England refused to carry out the agreement, — said 
it was all a mistake, as in truth it was,* and so, to the disappoint- 

1 James Madison of Virginia and Alexander Hamilton of New York were the 
foremost of the distinguished statesmen who framed the Constitution and aided 
Washington in organizing the government. Madison not only drafted the main 
features of the Constitution, but offered the first ten amendments, adopted 1791. 

Madison furthermore obtained the passage of the Religious Freedom Act of 
Virginia (originally drawn by Jefferson in 1778), 1785, by which entire religious 
liberty was granted, and all taxes for the support of public worship, and all relig- 
ious tests for holding office in that state were forbidden. In this great reform, 
Virginia led every state not excepting Rhode Island, in some respects, and set an 
example followed in the Constitution of the United States (see Constitution, page 
XV, Paragraph 2). Madison was born in King George County, Va., in 1751; died 1836. 

Madison (with George Clinton of New York, Vice-President) was elected Presi- 
dent by the Republican, or Democratic, party (see Paragraph 199, and note 4). 

2 See Non-Intercourse Act, Paragraph 218. 
8 Minister: see page 185, note 3. 

* It was the mistake of Mr. Erskine. the British minister. 



BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE. 



211 



ment and anger of multitudes, especially in New England, trade 
stopped as suddenly as it began. 

224. How Napoleon deceived us. — Next, Napoleon, Em- 
peror of the French, had a word of promise for us. He had seized 
and sold hundreds of our ships, because we would not aid him in 
his war against England. He now agreed to let our commerce 
alone, providing we would bind ourselves not to send any of our 
produce to Great Britain, but would let him and his friends have 
what they wanted to buy. Napoleon's offer was a trick to de- 
ceive us, and to get us into trouble with England. We agreed to 
his terms ; he did not keep his word, and the ill-feehng between 
England and America was made more bitter than ever. 



225. Tecumseh^'s Conspiracy ; Battle of Tippecanoe. — 

Meanwhile, it was discovered that Tecumseh, a famous Indian 

chief, of Ohio, had succeeded in uniting the 
savage tribes of the West in a plot to drive 
out the white settlers. General Harrison, 
who became President thirty years later 
(1841), met the Indians at Tippecanoe, in 
the territory of Indiana, and defeated them 
in a great battle (181 1). Tecumseh him- 
self, however, was not in that battle ; but he 
took a leading part in later ones, led by the 
English. Many Americans believed that England had secretly en- 
couraged Tecumseh's plot. This belief helped to increase the 
desire of the majority for war with Great Britain. 




226. The War of 1812; the Henry Letters; the Real 
Cause of the War ; its Declaration. — It was still further in- 
creased by a man named Henry. He declared that the English 
government in Canada had employed him to endeavor to persuade 
the New England states to withdraw from the Union and join 
themselves to Canada. In proof of what he alleged, he pro- 



212 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

duced a package of letters, which he stated contained positive 
evidence of what he said. Madison paid Henry fifty thousand 
dollars for the letters. They were a fraud, and Henry was a vil- 
lain ; but for a time both the President and Congress were com- 
pletely deceived by this artful swindler, and his letters made our 
hatred of Great Britain burn hotter than ever. 

The real, final cause of the war, however, lay in the fact that 
England persisted in stopping our ships, taking American seamen 
out of them, and forcing them, under the sting of the lash, to 
enter her service and fight her battles.* This was an outrage that 
we could no longer bear — thousands of our citizens had been 
kidnapped in this way, and England refused to stop these acts of 
violence. For this reason Congress declared war, in the summer 
of 1812. New England, knowing that such a war would ruin what 
commerce she had, was opposed to fighting ; but the rest of the 
country thought differently, and, with a hurrah for " Free Trade 
and Sailors' Rights," ^ the war began. 

227. HulPs March to Detroit ; his Surrender. — Our plan 
was to attack Canada, and, if all went well, to annex it. In expec- 
tation of the war, General William Hull had been ordered to march 
from Urbana, Ohio, to Detroit. Hull had served in the Revolu- 
tion, and Washington had spoken of him as " an officer of great 
merit." In order to reach Detroit he had to build two hundred 
miles of road through forests and swamps. It was a tremendous 
piece of work. Hull did it, and reached Detroit. He did not get 
the news that we had declared war, until after the Canadians had 

1 England's ground for seizing our sailors was that many of them were said to 
be deserters from her service, which was often true. She insisted that no British 
subject could become an American. This was at a time when she could not get 
her own people to enter her navy, and used to send gangs of sailors ashore in 
England at night, with hand-cuffs and gags, to seize men and drag them off to fight 
against France. 

2 By " Free Trade," we meant freedom to send our merchant ships to what ports 
we pleased ; by " Sailors' Rights," we meant the protection of American seamen 
against seizure by the British. 



THE CONSTITUTION AND THE GUERRIERE. 



213 



got it, and had cut off most of the suppUes of provisions and powder 
that he was expecting to receive. The forests back of Detroit were 
full of hostile savages ; in front was the English general, Brock, 

with a force of 
Canadians and 
Indians. Brock 
summoned Hull 
to surrender. 
Without waiting 
to be attacked, 
without firing a 
single gun at the 
enemy, he hoist- 
ed a white table- 
cloth as a signal 
to Brock, gave up 
the fort, and with it Detroit and Michigan. For this act Hull was 
tried by a court of American army officers, convicted of coward- 
ice, and sentenced to be shot ; but President Madison pardoned 
him on account of his services during the Revolution.^ 




SCALE OF MILES 



IW 



200 



300 



228. The Constitution and the Guerriere,^ — But though we 
were beaten on land, we were wonderfully victorious at sea. Eng- 
land had been in the habit of treating America as though she 
owned the ocean from shore to shore. She had a magnificent 
navy of a thousand war-ships. We had twelve ! One of our 
twelve was the Co7istitution, Captain Isaac Hull ^ — and certainly 
a braver officer never trod a ship's deck. While cruising off 
the coast of Nova Scotia, Captain Hull fell in with the British 

1 General Hull's defence was that he surrendered in order to save the women 
and children of Detroit from the scalping-knives of the Indians who formed part 
of Brock's force. James Freeman Clarke says, " Public opinion has long since 
revised this sentence [against Hull] , and the best historians disapprove it." 

2 GuerriSre (Ghe-re-air'). The British had captured this vessel from the French ; 
hence her French name, meaning the Warrior. 

3 He was nephew of General Hull 



214 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 




man-of-war, Guerriere. The fight began (August 19, 181 2) with- 
out delay, and in twenty minutes the Guerriere surrendered, a 
shattered, helpless, sinking wreck.^ The London Times said, 

' Never before in the history 
of the world did an English 
frigate haul down her colors 
to an American ' ; * but be- 
fore the war was over, Eng- 
land had practised hauling 
down her flag to Americans 
so much that it had ceased 
to excite surprise. Out of 
fifteen such battles, we won 
twelve. Captain Hull 
brought his prisoners to 
Boston. The Constitution, 
almost unhurt, and hence- 
forth known as Old Ironsides^ was hailed with ringing cheers. 
Hull and his brave officers were feasted in Faneuil Hall; Con- 
gress voted him a gold medal for the victory, and gave his men 
fifty thousand dollars in prize money. 

229. Progress of the War ; Perry's Victory. — Later that 
year (18 12), the Americans attacked Queenstown, Canada, and 
General Harrison tried to drive the British out of Detroit, but 
nothing of note was accomplished. 

But in the autumn (September 10, 1813), Commodore Perry 
gained a grand victory on Lake Erie, near Sandusky, Ohio. Perry 
had gone to the shore of the lake, and, with the help of a gang of 
ship- carpenters, had built a little fleet of nine vessels from green 
timber cut in the wilderness back of them. With that fleet he 
captured the British fleet which carried more guns and more men. 



Battle of the "Constitution " and the " Guerriere. 



1 The Constitution carried heavier guns and more men than the Gtierrilre. 

2 See Holmes's poem on " Old Ironsides," written when it was proposed to break 
the old ship up. * The Times had forgotten Paul Jones (see page 179). 



i 



VICTORY AT TOHOPEKA. 



2T5 




[E ShP I 




Before the fight began, he hoisted a flag over his vessel — the Law* 

rence — bearing the words, *' Don't 

give up the ship." ^ During the bat- 
tle, the Lawrence was literally cut to 

pieces, and her decks covered with 

dead and dying men. Perry saw that 

if he persisted in staying where he 

was, he must be defeated. Taking 

his little brother — a boy of twelve 

— with him, he jumped into a boat, 

and ordered the crew to pull for the 

Niagara. It was a perilous undertaking. The British shot broke 

the oars to pieces, and young 
Perry's cap was torn with bullets ; 
but the boat reached the Niag- 
ara, and Perry gained the bat- 
tle. Then — on the back of an 
old letter — he wrote this de- 
spatch to General Harrison, — 

" We have met the enetny, mid they 
are ours." 

That victory gave us control 
of Lake Erie, and the British 
abandoned Detroit. 

230. Jackson's Victory at Tohopeka. — The next year 
(18 14) General Andrew /— ^ ^ yp r\^£^ 

Jackson — destined to be ^ ^^^^^ ^-^^^ '-^^^ 
President of the United , 1^ <^^. -tim^ai^ c^ 
States — marched against J^o^unm^o ^ (nuj ^iHn^^. 
the Creeks, a strong In- 
dian tribe in the southwest 
territory, now forming the 




SCALE OF MILES 
_l L. 



50 



100 



7 



p^*i/, toii^ a/tccC& /y€j^^£Zo (t^ «;zfemP 



(^r-Tyr-y- 



i These were the last words of Captain James Lawrence (June i, 1813), when 
he fell mortally wounded in a battle between his ship, the Chesapeake, and the 
English ship-of-war Shannon, Perry had given Lawrence's name to his ship. 



2l6 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



States of Alabama and Mississippi. The Creeks had fought against 

us from the beginning of the war ; and the summer before Jackson 

set out to attack them they had 
massacred five hundred men, 
women, and children at Fort 
Mimms, near Mobile. Jackson 
was a man who never did things by 
halves. He drove the Indians be- 
fore him, but at last they turned 
and met him (March 27, 1814) 
in battle at Tohopeka, or Horseshoe 
Bend, on a branch of the Alabama 
River. Here Jackson killed so 
many that he completely destroyed 
their power, and the result was that 

the Indians surrendered the greater part of their territory to the 

United States. 




SCALE OF MILES 



100 



200 



300 



231. Battles of Chippewa and Lundy's Lane ; Burning of 

Washington. — In the summer of 
the same year (1814) General 
Brown, with General Winfield Scott 
and General Ripley, gained the bat- 
tle of Chippewa, in Canada (July 
5, 1 8 14). Later, they drove the 
British from a hard-fought field at 
Lundy's Lane (July 25, 18 14), near 
Niagara Falls. 

Meanwhile, the British had block- 
aded all our ports along the Atlan- 
tic coast, and had plundered and 
burned a number of towns. Later 
in the summer (August 24, 18 14) 
they entered Washington. The sudden appearance of the enemy 
created a panic. President Madison fled in one direction ; Mrs. 




SCALE OF MILES 



10 



20 



30 



VICTORY ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN. 



217 



Madison, filling her work-bag with silver spoons, snatched from 
the table, fled in another. The President's dinner, which had 

just been served, was captured and 
eaten by the enemy. After dinner. 
Admiral Cockburn, the English com- 
mander, and his officers, paid a visit 
to the House of Representatives. 
Springing into the Speaker's chair, he 
cried out, " Shall this harbor of Yan- 
kee Democracy be burned? All for 
it will say **Aye ! '" A general shout 
of "Aye ! " "Aye ! " settled the ques- 
tion. The torch was applied, and 
soon the evening sky was red with 
the glare of the flames, which con- 
sumed the Capitol, the President's 
House, and other public buildings. A recent English historian ^ 
says of that deed, " Few more shameful acts are recorded in our 
history ; and it was the more shameful in that it was done under 
strict orders from the government at home." ^ 




SCALE OF MILES 
""as 50 



100 



232. Macdonough^s Victory on Lake Champlain ; British 
Attack on Fort McHenry . — A few weeks after the burning of 
Washington, a British expedition fourteen thousand strong moved 
down from Canada by way of Lake Champlain to attack Northern 
New York. Commodore Macdonough had command of a small 
American fleet on the lake. A British fleet — carrying more gims 
and more men — attacked him (September 11, 18 14) in Platts- 
burgh Bay.^ At the first broadside fired by the enemy, a young 
game-cock kept as a pet on board Macdonough's ship, the Sara- 



1 Green's " History of the English People." 

2 The English justified the burning of Washington on the ground that we had 
burned (May i, 1813) the Canadian government buildings at York (now Toronto), 

^n the capital of Canada. The truth is, that both sides perpetrated many acts 
hich time should make both forgive and forget. ^ See Map, page 213. 



2l8 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

toga, flew up upon a gun ; flapping his wings, he gave a crow of 
defiance that rang Hke the blast of a trumpet. Swinging their 
hats^Macdonough's men cheered the plucky bird again and again. 
He had foretold victory. That was enough. They went into the 
fight with such ardor, and managed their vessels with such skill, 
that in less than three hours all of the British ships that had not 
hauled down their flags were scudding to a place of safety as 
rapidly as possible. That ended the invasion from Canada. 

The next British attack was on Baltimore, by the same force 
and fleet that had taken Washington. That city was guarded by 
Fort McHenry. All day and aU the following night (September 
13, 1 8 14) the enemy's ships hammered away with shot and shell 
at the fort. Would it, could it, hold out ? was the anxious question 
of the people of Baltimore. When the sun rose the next morning, 
the question was answered — " our flag was still there," the British 
had given up the attack, and were sailing down Chesapeake Bay. 
Baltimore was safe.^ 

233. Jackson's Victory at New Orleans ; End of the War. 

— Early the next year came the final battle of the war. The 
contest had now lasted over two years. The British determined to 
strike a tremendous blow at New Orleans. If successful, it might 
. give them a foothold on the Mississippi River. Twelve thousand 
picked men under Sir Edward Pakenham made the attack (Jan- 
uary 8, 181 5). General Andrew Jackson defended the approach 
to the city with fortifications made of cotton-bales and banks of 
earth. He had just half as many men as the British commander, 
and they were men, too, who knew practically nothing of war. 
In less than half an hour after the fight began, Pakenham was 

1 It was on this occasion that Francis S. Key, of Baltimore, wrote "The Star- 
Spangled Banner." Key was a prisoner at the time on board of one of the British 
men-of-war. All night long he watched the bombardment of the fort. By the flash 
of the guns he could see our flag waving over it. In the morning, when the mist 
cleared away, he found it was " still there." His feelings of delight found expres- 
sion in the song, which he hastily wrote in pencil on the back of an old letter. In 
a few weeks the people were singing it from one end of the country to the other. 



RESULTS OF THE WAR. 2I9 

killed, and the enemy had lost so heavily*that they gave up the 
battle. It was the end of the war. Great Britain had already 
made peace with our commissioners at Ghent, in Belgium (Decem- 
ber 24, 1814) j but as it often took even fast sailing-vessels a month 
or six weeks to cross the Atlantic, the news did not reach us until 
several weeks after Jackson's victory.^ The treaty said nothing about 
the British claim of the right to search American vessels. There was 
hardly need to mention it, for our ships were no longer molested. 

234. Results of the War. — The war, sometimes called "the 
second war for independence," had three chief results : i. Though 
our military operations had generally been far from successful on 
land, yet we convinced Great Britain that we were able and deter- 
mined to make our rights on the ocean respected. 2. The war 
showed foreign nations that any attempt to establish themselves 
on the territory of the United States was likely to end in disastrous 
failure. 3. By cutting off our foreign commerce for a number of 
years, the war caused us to build hundreds of cotton and woollen 
mills, thus making us to a much greater degree than before a manu- 
facturing people — able to clothe ourselves, instead of having to 
depend on the looms of Great Britain for our calico and our 
broadcloth. 

235. Summary. — Madison's administration was mainly taken 
up with the second war with Great Britain, begun in 181 2 and 
ended early in 18 15. The cause of the war was the refusal of 
England to stop seizing our sailors on board our ships and forcing 
them into her service. The war had the good effect of putting 
an end to this practice. That was nearly eighty years ago. Since 
then England and America have been at peace with each other. 
May that peace never again be broken ! 

1 While the news of the treaty of peace was on its way, a convention of delegates 
from all of the New England states (Maine was then part of xMassachusetts) met in 
Hartford, in secret session. The enemies of New England declared that the object 
of the Hartford Convention was to dissolve the Union. Its real purpose was to 
adopt more efficient means of defence for the New England states, and to propose 
certain amendments to the Constitution. 



220 leading facts of american history. 

James Monroe. 

236. Monroe*s Administration (Fifth President; Two 
Terms, 1817-1825) ; Monroe a Soldier of the Revolution; 
his Inauguration. — Monroe/ like Washington, got the best part 
of his education on the battle-field. When the Revolution broke 
out he was a student in the College of William and Mary/ Virginia. 
Knowing that the country needed her young men to fight for her, 
he laid down his books and went to do his part in the cause of 
liberty ; among the gallant officers who helped to gain the victory 
of Trenton ^ James Monroe, then only eighteen, was one. 

Mr. Monroe stood near the ruins of the Capitol at Washington 
when he took the oath of office,"* and delivered his inaugural address. 
The British had burned,^ but had not wholly destroyed that edifice, 
and the foundations remained unharmed. Workmen were then 
busily engaged in rebuilding it.^ The President's address to the 
people was full of encouragement. It seemed to him that the 
solid foundations of the Capitol stood an image of the nation, and 
that, like them, the government was sure to continue to exist. 

237. The President's Journey through the North ; the 
** Era of Good Feeling. *' — Mr. Monroe spent the summer 
(181 7) in travelHng through • New England and the Northern 
states. New England had been bitterly opposed to the w^r of 
181 2, because the stoppage of commerce had ruined many of her 
merchants and ship-builders. The President's journey in this part 
of the country did great good. He went as a peacemaker. All 
knew that he had fought under Washington ; all respected the 

1 James Monroe of Westmoreland County, Virginia (born 1758; died i83i),was 
elected President by the Republican or Democratic party (see page 191, note 4) 
by a. very large majority over the Federalist candidate. Daniel D. Tompkins of 
New York was chosen Vice-President. On Monroe's second election, see page 221. 

2 The College of William and Mary, near Williamsburg, Virginia, is the oldest 
college, except Harvard, in the United States, and at the outbreak of the Revolution 
it was the wealthiest. 

3 See Paragraph 174. ^ See note 3, page 192. S See Paragraph 231. 
6 The Capitol has since been greatly enlarged, and a new dome erected. 



THE FIRST SEMINOLE WAR, 221 

man's unblemished character and honest purpose. When the New 
England people saw him dressed in the military costume of the 
Revolution, the sight brought back the old days that had * tried 
men's souls.' ^ In Boston and other cities the citizens brought 
out the shot-torn and smoke-stained battle-flags of '76 ^ to decorate 
the streets. Gray-haired men, scarred with wounds received at 
Bunker Hill, at Trenton, at Saratoga, gathered to welcome the 
new President. When he spoke, it was of the inestimable worth 
of the Union, of the need that the North and the South had and 
always must have of each other. Men listened, and forgot their 
political differences and hatreds ; party lines seemed to fade away. 
Every one declared that the " Era of Good Feeling " had begun. 
When Mr. Monroe was chosen President for the second time 
(182 1) the people showed their respect for him and their confi- 
dence in him by their electoral vote, which lacked but a single 
one of being unanimous.^ 

238. The First Seminole War ; the Purchase of Florida. 

— Florida, which belonged to Spain,* was a constant source of 
trouble to the people of the South. Pirates, robbers, desperadoes 
of all kinds, had got complete control of that territory. Many 
Seminoles, or wandering Indians,* had gone there from the country 
west of Georgia, and, uniting with runaway negroes from the 
South, they saUied out and attacked the Georgia planters, burning 



1 No country ever made more generous provision for its old soldiers than the 
United States did (in Monroe's administration) for those vi^ho had fought in the 
Revolution. The government pensioned the veterans of the war, and their widows, 
spending in all about ;^65,ooo,ooo in the noble work. 

2 1776. 

8 Out of 232 electoral votes cast by the twenty-four states then constituting the 
Union, Monroe received 231. The elector who cast the remaining vote (for John 
Quincy Adams) did it simply because he had vowed " that no later mortal should 
stand in Washington's shoes " — that is, receive, like Washington, every vote for the 
presidency. 

* See Paragraph 144. Great Britain had ceded Florida back to Spain in 1783. 

4 Seminoles (wanderers). The name was given to the Indians of Florida by the 
Indians of Georgia and the Southwest. The second Seminole War began in 1835. 



222 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

houses, murdering families, and carrying off property. Several 
attempts had been made (1817) to put a stop to these outrages; 
but, as it was no easy matter to fight the Indians and negroes in 
the swamps and thickets of Florida, nothing satisfactory had been 
accomplished. Finally, General Jackson^ was sent (1818) to see 
what he could do. His measures were sharp and energetic ; in 
three months he had conquered the country, though it still con- 
tinued to belong to Spain. 

The Spanish government found that these troubles were likely 
to break out again, and that the people of Georgia would never 
rest until they got possession of Florida ; Spain therefore wisely 
decided to sell it to us. We obtained the entire territory, about 
sixty thousand square miles (1819), for five milHon dollars, thus 
adding another large area- to the United States.^ 

239. The Question of the Western Extension of Slavery* 

-^The year in which we purchased Florida the question came 
up, whether slavery should be permitted to establish itself be- 
yond the Mississippi, in the northern part of the territory of 
Louisiana,* then called Missouri. Congress had shut out slavery 
(1789) from the Northwest Territory;^ now the discussion began 
whether it should in Hke manner shut it out from that part of the 
country beyond the Mississippi, north of a line drawn west from 
near the point where the Ohio joins that river. 

1 See Paragraph 230. 

2 See Map, page 180. 

3 When the United States made the treaty with Spain for the purchase of Florida 
(1819) we gave up to Spain all claim to the country west of the Sabine River 
(later known as Texas) ; and on the other hand, Spain agreed to make over to tlie 
United States all her title and claims to Oregon. 

4 See Paragraph 215, and compare Map, page 204. Slaves were held in the 
southern part of that territory (in New Orleans and vicinity) when we purchased 
the territory from France ; hence the state of Louisiana came in with slavery, in 
1812. 

6 That is, the territory north of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi, forming 
now the five states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wiseonsin. See 
Paragraph 195. 



FEELING IN REGARD TO SLAVERY. 223 

Jefferson was afraid that this discussion would lead to trouble 
between the states. He said that the suddenness with which it 
arose terrified him " like a fire-bell in the night." 

240. Change of Feeling in Regard to Slavery ; Condition 
of Things at the North and at the South. — The reason for 
this fear was that a great change had come over the country. Be- 
fore, and even during, the Revolution, every colony held negroes 
in bondage. But in the North the slaves were chiefly house- 
servants, and their number was never very large. In the South, 
however, the planters raised all their crops by slave labor, and the 
number of negroes was constantly increasing. At first, few per- 
sons considered slavery an evil ; but after a time many able men 
in both sections of the country came to believe it a bad thing for 
both the whites and the blacks. 

In the North, this feeling gradually led to the passing of laws 
which gave the slaves their freedom. This was not the case at 
the South, because there the planters did not see how they could 
free their negroes without ruining themselves. 

Later, as has been shown,^ the invention of the cotton-gin made 
slave labor immensely profitable. The natural result was that the 
planters wished to keep the system up. At the same time, a good 
many Northern men who made money by manufacturing and 
dealing in cotton cloth became interested in maintaining slavery. 

241. How Slavery divided the Country in regard to 
Trade with Europe. — On the whole, the effect of the slave 
system was now to divide the nation, instead of uniting it. The 
people of the two sections not only thought differently about the 
right and the wrong of holding the negro in bondage, but their 
business interests had come to be different. The South devoted 
all its strength to raising cotton, rice, and tobacco. Whatever 
manufactured goods — such as cloth, shoes, hats — it needed, it 
had to buy ; and as Europe could make such goods much cheaper 



1 See Paragraph 205. 



224 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

then than we possibly could, the South naturally wished for free 
trade, in order that it might import its supplies from the other 
side of the Atlantic. 

The North, however, had gradually come to devote much of its 
labor and its money to making cloth and other goods ; for this 
reason it was opposed to free trade in these articles. It wished 
to tax the importation of whatever it could manufacture to advan- 
tage, and so keep foreign goods high, and induce people to buy 
our own instead. Hence, while the South wanted liberty to send 
abroad for goods, the North believed that the country would thrive 
better if manufacturers were protected by government in m.aking 
them here. 

242. Why the North opposed the Extension of Slavery 
West of the Mississippi ; why the South demanded it. — 

The great majority of the Northern people, believing slavery to be 
an evil, had therefore two chief reasons for opposing its establish- 
ment in the new territory west of the Alississippi : i. They thought 
it would be a serious injury to that part of the country, and as 
great a mistake as for a farmer to take the thistles and weeds which 
grew on his old land and deliberately plant them on a field of 
freshly cleared soil. 2. They objected to it because, if the new 
territory should be admitted as slave states, the South would 
thereby gain such a great number of* representatives in Congress 
that it would have a large majority. That section could then, by 
its votes, strengthen and extend slavery, and at the same time 
make laws giving it power to import all kinds of manufactured 
goods free. 

The South, on the other hand, was firmly convinced that its 
prosperity depended on the extension of slave labor, and on free 
trade with Europe. The people there saw that the North was 
rapidly outstripping them in growth of population. If, then, the 
new territory should come in as free soil, the result would be that 
the North would soon get control of Congress, and so control of 
trade. 




HENRY CLAY. 



^ THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE. 22$ 

Both sides were the more eager because the number of free and 
of slave states was then (1819) equaV each section having eleven. 

243. The Missouri Compromise. — When, therefore, Missouri 
took steps to gain admission as a slave state, the South urged the 
measure with all its might, and the North fought against it with 
equal determination. After nearly two years of angry debate, 
Henry Clay ^ of Kentucky succeeded in persuading Congress to 
make a compromise.^ It was this : Missouri was to be allowed 
to enter the Union as a slave state, but on the express condition 
that in all future cases the states formed out of the territory west 
and northwest of Missouri — that is, north of the parallel of 36 
degrees and 30 minutes on the map — should come in free.* 
Congress passed this law in 1820, under the name of the Missouri 
Compromise.* Meantime, Maine had been admitted ; so that, 
when Missouri entered the Union (1821), the balance between 
the free and the slave states was still kept, — each section had 
exactly twelve. 

Many people now believed that the debate about the extension 



1 This, of course, was after the admission of Alabama, in 1819. See Table, 
page XX. 

2 Henry Clay was bom in Virginia in 1777; died at Washington, 1852. He 
studied law, and in 1797 removed to Lexington, Kentucky. In] 1799, when the 
people of Kentucky were about adopting a state constitution. Clay urged them 
(but without success) to abolish slavery. He entered Congress in 1806, and con- 
tinued in public life from that time until his death. He was a man of remarkable 
personal influence, a " peacemaker " by temperament, and the greatest orator the 
Southwest ever possessed. Although ardently attached to his adopted state of 
Kentucky, yet he declared in 1850 that he owed his first allegiance to the Union, 
and a subordinate allegiance to his state. See Carl Schurz's admirable " Life of 
Henry Clay " in the " American Statesmen Series." 

8 It was called a compromise because, as will be seen, each side promised to 
give up something to the other for the sake of making a peaceful settlement of 
the dispute. 

4 See Map on " Territorial Growth of the United States." 

6 John Randolph of Virginia called the Northern men who voted for the Com- 
promise " Doughfaces, ' because he tiiought they had no more character than a 
piece of dough. 



r 



226 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. § 

of slavery was settled " forever." But facts proved that in this 
case '' forever " meant something less than twenty-five years ; ^ 
then, as we shall see, the question was to come up again, and in a 
more dangerous form than before. 

244. Desire to reach the West; the ** National Road.** — 

Next to the extension of slavery, one of the greatest questions of 
this period was how to reach the West. To-day, we find it 
difficult to understand this. To get West, we simply step into 
an express train, and steam whirls us to our destination at the 
rate of forty miles an hour. If mountains block the way, the train 
either climbs over them or goes through them. In President 
Monroe's time the railroad did not exist, and, although the steam- 
boat did, that could only go where some navigable river or lake 
opened the way. Look on the map of the United States, and 
you will see that the Alleghany Mountains shut out the East from 
the West. As the steamboat could not cross those rough walls of 
rock, Congress determined to build a road over them. Such a 
national road had already been begun on the banks of the 
Potomac, at Cumberland, Maryland. It was how gradually ex- 
tended across the forest- covered mountains to Wheeling, on the 
Ohio River, where it would connect with steamboats running to 
Cincinnati, or even to New Orleans. 

But that was not enough. There were milHons of acres of fertile 
lands in Ohio and the country beyond it, that emigrants wished to 
reach more directly than the steamboat would help them to do. 
For this reason it was proposed to extend the National Road from 
Wheeling through to the Mississippi. President Monroe earnestly 
favored this and similar enterprises, but did not think that he had 
lawful power under the Constitution to spend the people's money 
for such purposes. Indirectly, however, he used every effort to 
help it forward. The road was gradually built farther and farther 
west. It was the first great work of the kind undertaken by the 



1 That is, until the question of the Wilmot Proviso came up in 1846, followed by 
that of the Compromise of 1850 and that of the admission of Kansas in 1854. 



THE ** MONROE DOCTRINE. 227 

United States, costing, in the end, over six million dollars. It 
stretched across the country for hundreds of miles, — broad, solid, 
smooth, — a true national highway.* 

245. Traffic on the National Road ; Emigrant Wagons. — 

The traffic over it was immense. Gayly painted stage-coaches ran 
through the more thickly settled parts. Beyond, toward the west, 
there was a constant stream of huge canvas-covered emigrant 
wagons, often so close together that the leaders of the teams could 
touch the wagon ahead of them with their noses. To see that 
procession of emigrant families going forward day after day gave 
one 'an idea of how fast the people were settling that wild western 
country, which is now covered with cultivated farms and thriving 
towns. 

It was the beginning of that great march toward the setting sun 
which was to keep steadily advancing until the Pacific said 
*' Halt ! " — that is, until we had taken possession of the whole 
breadth of the continent. 

246. The *< Monroe Doctrine ** ; " America for Ameri- 
cans." — While the National Road was being pushed westward, 
Mexico and several South American countries had declared them- 
selves republics, independent of Spain. The Czar of Russia and 
the European kings looked with a jealous eye on all republics. 
They were suspected of having promised to help the king of Spain 
to force the new American nations to bow their heads again 
under the old despotic yoke which they had just thrown off. But 
President Monroe cried, Hands off ! In his message to Congress 
(1823) he declared that, while the United States was resolved 
not to meddle with the affairs of the nations of the Old World, 
we were equally determined that they should not meddle with 
the affairs of the New. That declaration is called the " Monroe 
Doctrine." ^ It means that we consider that " America is for 



1 The Road was eventually carried to the Mississippi by the state governments. 

2 President Monroe, in his message of December 2, 1S23, says, speaking of the 



228 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Americans." We stand by the right of the different nations on 
both the American continents, North and South, to manage their 
own affairs in their own way, without interference from Europe. 

247. Visit of Lafayette. — Near the close of Monroe's ad- 
ministration. Congress requested the President to invite Lafayette, 
then a venerable man verging on seventy, to revisit the United 
States after forty years' absence. He came (1824), and spent 
more than a year travelling through the country as the guest of 
the nation. He visited every one of the twenty-four states, and 
all of the principal cities and towns. He had spent much of his 
fortune in our cause. Congress gratefully voted him two hundred 
thousand dollars, and m.ade him a grant of twenty-four thousand 
acres of land. He was everywhere received with enthusiasm and 
affection. Some of the old soldiers of the Revolution, who had 
fought under him, were completely overcome by their feelings on 
seeing their former commander, and fainted when they grasped 
the hand that had so generously helped them in the dark days of 
the war. Lafayette took part in laying the corner-stone of Bunker 
Hill Monument (June 17, 1825), just fifty years after the battle.^ 
\Vhen he returned to France that autumn he was followed by the 
grateful prayers of the powerful nation he had done so much to 
establish. 

248. Summary. — Three chief events marked the period of 
the presidency of James Monroe. They were : i. The debate on 
the extension of slavery west of the Mississippi River, ending in 
the Missouri Compromise. 2. The pushing forward of the Na- 
tional Road into Ohio, which opened up a large section of the 

proposed interference of European governments in America, " We should consider 
any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere 
as dangerous to our peace and safety." And again, in the same message, the Presi- 
dent says that we should consider such interference " as the manifestation of an 
unfriendly disposition toward the United States" These two passages contain what 
is to-day regarded as the " Monroe Doctrine." 

1 See Webster's address at the laying of the corner-stone of the Bunker Hill 
Monument, June 17, 1825. 



'X. 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS S ADMINISTRATION. 229 

West to emigrants from the Atlantic states. 3. The statement of 
the Monroe Doctrine, declaring that Europe must keep her hands 
off of both American continents, 

John Quincy Adams. 

249. John Quincy Adams's Administration (Sixth Presi- 
dent, One Term, 1 825-1 829) ; ^ Governor Clinton and the Erie 
Canal. — The year that Mr. Adams became President (1825) the 
Erie Canal was completed by the state of New York. It was the 
most important public improvement yet made in the United States. 
It connected the Hudson River at Troy and Albany with Lake 
Erie, at the point where the city of Buffalo now stands. 

Governor De Witt Clinton of New York carried the great work 
through. When he proposed it, many denounced and ridiculed 
the undertaking as a sheer waste of the people's hard-earned 
money. They nicknamed it " Clinton's Big Ditch." They said 
that it never would be completed, that it would swallow up millions 
in taxes, and in the end yield nothing but mud. 



.1 John Quincy Adams, son of President John Adams, was born in Braintree 
(now QuincyJ , Massachusetts, in 1767 ; died, 1848. He was independent in politics, 
though his sympathies were with the National Republican or early Whig party. 
This party, the successor of the Federalists (see Paragraph 199), desired, like them, 
to give a broad interpretation to the Constitution. ' They favored a protective tariff 
(that is, a heavy tax imposed on imported goods for the purpose of " protecting " 
our manufacturers against foreign competition — a revenue tariff is a lighter tax 
imposed merely to obtain money or revenue for the government) .^**rhey also favored 
public improvements — such as the building of roads, canals, aifd the like — at the 
expense of the nation, in opposition to the Democratic party, which insisted on a strict 
interpretation of the Constitution, favored free trade, or a simple revenue tar^ff^and 
believed that each state should make its own improvements at its own expense. / 

John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson were the two leading candidates for 
the presidency in 1824; the latter represented the Republican, or Democratic party, 
though party lines at that time were not very clearly defined. Neither candidate 
got a majority of the electoral votes; and the House of Representatives finally chose 
Mr. Adams President (John C. Calhoun of South Carolina Vice-President). Mr. 
Adams had refused to make any exertion to secure his own election ; and when 
asked by his friend Edward Everett if he did not intend to do something to obtain 
it, he replied, " I shall do absolutely nothing." It was one of those rare cases in 
which the office sought the man, and not the man the office. 



230 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



250. How the Canal was built ; its Opening. — Governor 
Clinton had indeed put his hand to a stupendous task. Lake 
Erie is three hundred and sixty-three miles west of the Hudson, 
and it is nearly six hundred feet above the level of that river. 

The country between the Hudson and the lake is in some places 
rough and broken. There were people in New York who knew 
these difficulties, and who asked the governor whether he could 
make water run up hill. He repHed that he could do better : he 

could build locks which would 
make the water lift the canal- 
boats over the hills. 

When all was ready, he set his 
army of laborers at work. They 
toiled eight years in the wilder- 
ness, cutting down forests, exca- 
vating the earth, blasting their 
way through ridges of rock, 
building aqueduct - bridges to 
carry the canal across rivers, 
constructing locks of solid ma- 
sonry to carry it up the hillsides. 
In the autumn of 1825 the 
great undertaking was finished, 
and, when the water was let in, a row of cannon about five miles 
apart, extending from Buffalo to New York, flashed the news the 
whole length of the state. Governor Clinton travelled from Buffalo 
to Albany by the canal, and thence by the Hudson to New York 
City. He brought with him a keg of water from Lake Erie. When 
he reached the city, he solemnly poured the water into the har- 
bor, to commemorate, as he said, "the navigable communication 
opened between our Mediterranean seas ^ and the Atlantic Ocean." 

251. What the Canal has done for New York and for the 
Country. — The Canal has since done far more than Governor 




Locks at Lockport, on the Erie Canal. 



' He gave this appropriate name to the Great Lakes. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH " STEAM-WAGONS." 23I 

Clinton expected. The expense of building it was easily paid by 
means of a small tax levied by the state on boats and freight.^ 
Before the canal was built, the charge for hauling a barrel of flour 
from Albany to Buffalo was ten dollars, and it took three weeks' 
hauling to get it there. After the canal was opened, a barrel of 
flour could be sent through in a week, at a cost of thirty cents ! 
Since its completion to the present time, over six thousand million 
dollars' worth of freight has been carried on its waters. 

The canal originally ran through a country in great part unsettled. 
It was the means of bringing in great numbers of emigrants from 
the East. On its banks now, there are scores of flourishing towns 
and rapidly growing cities. New York City gained immensely by 
the trade with the West which began to spring up as soon as this 
water-way was opened. To-day the canal is free ; a constant pro- 
cession of huge boats and barges laden with grain is seen moving 
eastward day and night ; a similar procession, laden with mer- 
chandise, is seen going westward. They are a means of growth 
and a source of wealth to both sections of the country. One 
makes food cheaper all through the East, the other makes imported 
goods cheaper throughout the West. 

252. Experiments with *' Steam- Wagons.'* — A few years 
later a work was begun in Maryland which was destined to have 
greater results even than the Erie Canal. Fulton had shown the 
world that the steam-engine could be successfully used to propel 
boats; the next question was, why could not the steam-engine be 
put on wheels, and made to propel itself on land ? After many 
experiments and many fail,ures, George Stephenson^ invented a 
" steam- wagon," or locomotive, in England, which would draw a 
train of cars on a track, at the rate of ten or fifteen miles an hour. 
Meanwhile, Oliver Evans and other ingenious American mechanics 
had been experimenting with " steam- wagons " in this countryo 

1 Before the completion of the New York Central Railroad, the canal carried 
thousands of passengers and emigrants ; it now carries freight only, 

2 See the " Leading Facts of English History," in this series. 



232 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



253. Breaking Ground for the First Passenger Railroad 
in America. — In 1828, the venerable Charles Carroll of Carroll- 
ton, Maryland, performed the ceremony of breaking ground for 
the construction of a railroad from Baltimore westward. The 
road now forms part of the Baltimore and Ohio railway system. 
Mr. Carroll, then over ninety years of age, was the only person 
living who had signed the Declaration of American Independence 
(1776). As he struck the spade into the ground with a firm hand, 
he said, *' I consider this among the most important acts of my 
life, second only to that of signing the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence, if second even to that." 



I 



254. The First American Locomotive ; the Road opened ; 
the Race. — The first locomotive which ran over the road (1830) 
was built at Baltimore by Peter Cooper, since widely known for 
his noble gift of the Cooper Institute to New York City. His 
engine had little resemblance to our modern ones ; but it drew a 
rudely constructed open wagon filled with passengers, and that in 
itself was no small triumph. The road at first extended only to 
Ellicott's Mills, about thirteen miles from Baltimore. The trip 
was made in somewhat less than an hour. On the return, the 
train had a race with a spirited gray horse belonging to one of the 
Baltimore stage-coach lines. The gray did his best ; the puffing, 
wheezmg little locomotive did its best likewise. Finally, steam 
conquered ; and a great shout of victory went up from the dozen 
passengers in the open wagon. That shout meant that the days 
of stage-coaches were numbered. 

255. Growth of Railroads in the United States ; Results. 

— The same year (1830) six miles of the Charleston and Augusta 
Railroad were opened; a year later (1831) the Mohawk and 
Hudson Railroad began to carry passengers in New York. In 
ten years the thirteen miles of track in Maryland had multiplied 
to nearly three thousand miles in different states. These have since 
increased more than fifty- fold, — binding the nation together in all 



THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 



233 



directions with bands of steel, and making every part of it quickly, 
cheaply, and easily accessible to every other part. The men of 
Jefferson's time who lived to see what the railroad accomplished 
no longer doubted whether the United States could reach beyond 
the Alleghanies. Steam convinced them that the republic was 
destined to get possession of the West as well as of the East. 







First Steam Train (1831) on the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, New York. 



256. The Temperance Cause; Drinking Habits in Early 
Days. — Side by side with this wonderful material advance, the 
country was now beginning to make progress in moral reforms, 
especially with respect to temperance. One of the great evils of 
the times was drunkenness. In the early days of our history the 
use of liquor was almost universal. People quite usually began 
the day by taking a glass of whiskey or rum ; they had another 
glass in the middle of the forenoon ; another at dinner ; perhaps 
another, to help them through the afternoon, especially if it was 
a long afternoon ; and, in order to make sure of getting enough, 
they seldom, if ever, missed taking a last glass before going to 
bed, that they might, as they said, make certain of pleasant 
dreams. No well-to-do farmer thought he could get in his hay 
without a good-sized jug of whiskey to refresh himself and his 
men ; no house or church was built without plenty of spirits to 
help get the timbers into place ; no bargain was clinched without 
their aid ; and no gentleman called on another, without being 
asked to take a social glass. 

257. The First Successful Temperance Society ; what 
has been done. — In 1826, the " American Society for the Pro- 



234 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

motion of Temperance " was formed in Boston ; and a number 
of years later (1840), six men who knew the evils of the vice of 
intemperance from their own sad personal experience, met in 
Baltimore, signed a total- abstinence pledge, and founded the 
" Washingtonian Temperance Society."^ That movement did im- 
mense good, and restored, it is said, a hundred and fifty thousand 
drunkards to the manhood they had lost through drink. Since 
then a great change for the better has come over society. " Strong 
drink" still slays its thousands in the United States as elsewhere ; 
but the young man beginning life now has this in his favor : all 
the best influences are on the side of temperance — seventy years 
ago, nearly every influence was on the other side. 

258. Summary. — The presidency of John Quincy Adams was 
marked by three important events: i. The building of the Erie 
Canal. 2. The building of the first passenger railroad in the 
United States. 3. The first successful attempt at temperance 
reform, 

Andrew Jackson. 

259. Jackson^s Administration (Seventh President, Two 
Terms, 1829-1837); Character of the New President. — Up to 

this date all the Presidents had been chosen from Virginia or from 
Massachusetts, and all were known to the country as statesmen of 
a high order. General Jackson ^ came from Tennessee. He was 

1 The first temperance societies did not insist on total abstinence from all alco- 
holic drinks, but only from the use of distilled spirits such as whiskey, brandy, and 
the like. Later, they required — like the Washingtonians — a pledge of "total 
abstinence from all that can intoxicate " ; but they still retained the name of tem- 
perance societies, though strictly speaking, they had now become total abstinence 
societies. In 1846 the state of Maine enacted a prohibitory law forbidding the j 
manufacture or sale of intoxicating liquors as beverages. Since then, a number of 
other states have passed similar laws. 

2 Andrew Jackson was of Scotch-Irish descent (see note 3. page 95). He was 
born in 1767, in the Waxhaw Settlement, Mecklenberg County, North Carolina, 
close to the South Carolina boundary line. In his will and elsewhere he speaks ol 
himself as a native of the latter state. He died in 1845. He got his early education 



ANDREW JACKSON. 



235 



considered a western man, and a man of the people. His military 
services, and especially his victory over the British at New Orleans/ 
had made him famous throughout the United 
States. 

In character, Jackson was headstrong, ab- 
solutely honest, and utterly fearless. When 
he was roused, there was a flash in his gray 
eyes that startled one like the gleam of a 
suddenly drawn sword. His blunt speech 
and decided action made many enemies, 
but he had also many devoted friends. 
They knew him to be a warm-hearted, 
true-hearted, high-minded man. Andrew Jackson. 




rather from the hard, rough, dangerous life of the backwoods than from books and 
schools. No one could excel him in handling a rifle, or in breaking and riding a 
wild or vicious horse. 

During the Revolution, Jackson, then a lad of fourteen, was taken prisoner by 
the British, and was nearly starved to death by them. Once the commanding officer 
ordered him to clean his boots. Young Jackson refused, saying that he was a 
prisoner of war, and therefore not obliged to perform such acts of drudgery for his 
captors. The officer, in a rage, struck him with his sword, cutting a gash on the 
boy's head and another on hi^ hand. Jackson carried the scars of this brutal treat- 
ment to his grave. 

In 1784 he began the study of la^v in Salisbury, North Carolina. Four years 
later he emigrated to Nashville, Tennessee, where he opened a law-office. In 1797 
he was elected United States Senator, but soon resigned the office, "partly," says 
Parton, " because he felt himself out of place in so slow and dignified a body, but 
chiefly for pecuniary reasons." He was again elected in 1823. 

During the War of 1812 Jackson was appointed a general in the regular army, 
and served the country with distinguished ability. When he fought the British, 
they found, to their cost, that he had not forgotten how they used him in the Revo- 
lution. He also gained great popularity with his men in his battles with the Indians, 
and his wonderful endurance of hardships got for him the affectionate nickname 
of " Old Hickory." 

In 1828 General Jackson (with John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, for Vice- 
President) was elected President of the United States by the Democratic party, by 
a large majority over John Quincy Adams, the National Republican or Whig 
candidate. In 1832 he was again elected (Martin Van Buren of New York, Vice- 
President), over Henry Clay, the Whig candidate. i See Paragraph 233. 




236 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

260. President Jackson* s << Political Revolution.** — ^The new 
President began his administration with what his Secretary of the 
Treasury galled "a great political revolution." The President's 
friends df^man^^ government offices. In a short time he turned out 
about.two tntjusand men from their positions, and gave their places 
and salsiries to.thosa who had voted for him. Tackson beheved the 
chang&woftldPjbe ankdvantage to the country; but such removals 

fol^saitJTiad never been made before. During the forty years 
laclAsVed s[ince the adoption of the Constitution, the 
Pr^sideyy whoyiad governed the country had dismissed but 
seventy^ four-'' ipSr^ns holding office, and of this small number 
five Wie«e. remold because they had stolen public money. 

261. Jefferson*s Rule about Removal of Government 
Officers; the Rule in Business; how Jackson would act 
now. — Jefferson had made the greatest number of these remov- 
als j but, it is said, he finally decided that before making more he 
would ask three questions about the person for whose place some 
office-seeker was begging. The questions were these ; i. "Is he 
honest?" 2. " Is he capable ? " 3. " Is he faithful to the Con- 
stitution ? " If the answer was " Yes," that was enough ; no appli- 
cant could get that man's place. 

In taking this course, Jefferson acted on the sound business prin- 
ciple of " Hold fast to those you can trust." If a bank rejected 
this principle, and made it a custom to turn its experienced and 
faithful clerks into the street every four years, in order to put a set 
of new and untried men in their places, we should say it must 
fail — we should go further than that : we should say it ought to 
fail. 

Unfortunately President Jackson did not see this principle, 
and without so intending he established that system which is 
commonly called the "spoils system."^ The best men of all 

1 Some recent authorities believe that about one hundred and forty persons were 
removed in all, and that Jefferson turned out nearly one hundred of that number, 

2 Because, in 1832, Secretary Marcy of New York declared that " to the victors 



WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 23/ 

political parties are now trying to reform it. If President Jackson 
were living, he would doubtless join with all his might in the good 
work, and would call on us to " lend a hand." 

262. William Lloyd Garrison; Dr. Channing; the Anti- 
Slavery Movement. — On New Year's Day, 1831, William 
Lloyd ^ Garrison, then a " poor, unlearned young man," ^ pub- 
lished in Boston the first number of a paper called the Liberator. 
Mr. Garrison was its editor, owner, pubHsher, printer, and carrier. 
The Liberator demanded the " immediate and unconditional eman- 
cipation of every slave held in the United States." 

If the negro could be freed without destroying the Union, well 
and good ; if not, Mr. Garrison would break up the Union to 
liberate the slave.^ 

The Southern planters believed the editor of the new paper had 
lost his reason ; most people at the North agreed with them.'* 
Even many warm friends of the negro thought Mr. Garrison was 
wholly wrong in his methods. They felt as Dr. Channing did. 
That eminent man wrote to Daniel Webster, declaring that what 

belong the spoils " ; or, in other words, that the successful political party in an 
election have a right to all they can make out of it in the way of offices and salaries. 

1 Lloyd : pronounced Loyd. 

2 See James Russell Lowell's poem " To W. L. Garrison," beginning, — 

*' In a small chamber, friendless and unseen, 
Toiled o'er his types one poor, unlearned young man." 

3 Mr. Garrison believed that the dissolution of the Union, by depriving the 
South of the support of the North, would hasten the liberation of the slaves. 
After laboring many years in the cause of emancipation, he finally came to the 
conclusion that the Constitution of the United States upheld slavery. As a conse- 
quence of this conviction, he violently denounced the Constitution (in words 
taken from Isaiah xxviii. 15) as " a covenant with death and an agreement with 
hell." These words were then regularly printed at the top of the Liberator until 
the outbreak of the Civil War, when they were dropped. 

4 Mr. Garrison said that he found the prejudice and contempt of Northern men 
harder to deal with than that of the slaveholders. In an address to the public in 
the first number of the Liberator he used these words : " I am in earnest — I will 
not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — and / will 
be heard." See Life of W. L. Garrison, by his Children. 



238 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

we should say to the South was this : " We consider slavery as 
your calamity, not your crime ; and we will share with you the 
burden of putting an end to it." ^ 

263. Insurrection of Slaves in Virginia; Mr. Garrison 
mobbed in Boston. — It so happened that in the summer follow- 
ing the publication of the Liberator ^ a terrible negro insurrection 
broke out in Virginia. The slaves engaged in it massacred over 
sixty white men, women, and children. Many Southern people 
believed that Mr. Garrison's object was to stir up the negroes to 
rise and murder their masters. There was not a grain of truth in 
the belief, but it spread at the South and powerfully increased the 
excitement. 

In the North, Mr. Garrison's appeals in behalf of the freedom 
of the blacks roused almost equal excitement. Gangs of " roughs " 
broke up meetings held to discuss emancipation, and on one occa- 
sion a howling mob dragged the editor of the Liberator through 
the Streets of Boston with a rope round his body. It was with 
great difficulty that the police saved his life. 

These violent outbreaks were not made out of hatred to the 
negro, but out of fear that Mr. Garrison was putting the country 
in peril. Many thoughtful men who were opposed to slavery be- 
lieved that, on the whole, it was better to save the Union with 
slavery than to deliberately destroy it for the sake of liberating the 
negro. Daniel Webster held that idea, and so, as we shall see 
later, did Abraham Lincoln. 

264. Formation of Abolition Societies; Petition to Con- 
gress for Emancipation ; what John Quincy Adams did. — 

Mr, Garrison believed that he was right, and persisted in demand- 



1 See Dr. W. E. Channing's letter to Daniel Webster (Webster's Works), May 
14, i8a8. Dr. Channing proposed that the United States should appropriate the 
money from the sale of the public land, buy the slaves from their owners, and set 
them free. Could that have been done, it would have saved us from four years 
of civil war. England bought her West India slaves, and freed them, in 1833, at 
a cost of one hundred million dollars. 



END OF THE UNITED STATES BANK. 239 

ing the emancipation of the slaves, Union or no Union. His 
influence spread. In a few years nearly two thousand societies 
had been formed in the North for the abolition of slavery. 

Then a flood of petitions began to pour into Congress, praying 
that the slaves held in the District of Columbia might be set free, 
and that the trade in slaves between the different Southern states 
might be stopped. 

Congress finally passed resolutions refusing to receive such 
petitions. John Quincy Adams, then a member of the House of 
Representatives, denounced these resolutions as "gag-rules" which 
forbade debate and were contrary to the Constitution.^ He in- 
sisted on presenting every petition that was sent to him, and some- 
times offered two hundred or more in a single day, amid cries of 
" Treason ! " and yells of " Put him out ! " From this period the 
discussion of slavery never ceased until the North and the South 
took up arms to settle it on the battle-field. 

265. The President puts an End to the United States 
Bank. — While the great question of emancipation was being hotly 
debated, the President was attacking the United States Bank.^ He 
believed, as did Senator Benton of Missouri,^ that it was badly man- 
aged and unsafe. For these reasons he refused to sign a bill* (1832) 
to renew the right of the bank to continue business. This refusal 
put an end to its existence in a short time. The year following 
this action the President removed nearly ten million dollars of the 

1 On the right of the people to petition the government, see Amendment to the 
Constitution, No. I., page xvi ; but compare the right of Congress to make rules 
for its proceedings, — Constitution, page viii, Section 5. 

2 See Paragraph 202. The United States Bank obtained a new charter (or right 
to do business) in 18 16, good for twenty years. Jackson refused to grant it a 
charter to go on after 1836. 

3 Colonel Thomas H. Benton was one of the most decided opponents of the 
bank. He thought paper money was unsafe, and urged Congress to adopt gold 
and silver currency instead of bank bills. His able speeches on this subject of 
" hard money " got for him the nickname of " Old Bullion." 

* Bill : a law proposed by Congress ; it requires the President's signature to 
make it complete. When he refuses to sign a bill, he is said to veio it. 



240 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

public money which the government had kept in the bank. This 
amount, with about thirty milhon dollars more, was deposited later 
(1836) in a number of small banks in the different states. Specu- 
lators borrowed large sums of this government money and used it 
to buy land ; their course excited others, and soon people all over 
the country were crazy with wild schemes for getting suddenly rich. 

266. South Carolina resists the Duty or Tax on Imported 
Goods. — The South was at this time strongly opposed to having 
heavy duties or taxes imposed on goods brought into the United 
States. The reason for this opposition was that the people of the 
South had never established manufactories in any number, and 
therefore had to buy their woollen and cotton cloth either from 
the Northern states, where large quantities were made, or from 
Europe. As labor was cheaper in Europe than in this country, 
the wealthy mill-owners in England could afford to make cloth, 
send it to the United States, and sell it at a much lower price than 
it could be made here. In order to prevent this, the manufacturers 
in the Northern states had obtained the passage of a law estab- 
lishing a protective tariff; that is, a heavy duty or tax levied on 
imported goods to protect the American manufacturer, and enable 
him to sell the same articles cheaper than a merchant bringing 
in the foreign goods could afford to sell them after paying the 
duty.^ 



1 For example, let us suppose that English cotton manufacturers can make cot- 
ton cloth at so low a rate that our merchants could import and sell it here for five 
cents a yard, while American manufacturers could not afford to sell their own 
make at less than eight cents a yard. Now, if Congress should pass a law impos- 
ing a duty or tax of five cents a yard on imported cotton cloth, then our manufac- 
turers could readily get eight or nine cents for theirs, since most people would 
prefer to buy the cheaper article, especially if the quality was about the same. 
Such a law would be called a Protective Tariff. 

The tariff 'originated in this way : When, after the adoption of the Constitution,- 
the new government went into operation, Congress found the national treasury 
empty. The great question was how to obtain a revenue. Finally, after prolonged 
discussion, an act was passed (1789) which imposed a moderate duty on certain 
imported articles. The object of this tariff, as stated by the act, was " for the sup- 




V 



•-■mv 







JOHN C. CALHOUN. 



NULLIFICATION. 24I 

267. John C. Calhoun ; Nullification ; ^ Preparations for 
War. — Senator John C. Calhoun^ of South Carolina protested 
against this high tariff. He asserted that it compelled the South 
to pay such a price for cloth and other goods that the people were 
constantly growing poorer, while the Northern manufacturers, on 
the other hand, were getting rich at their expense. He therefore 
demanded free trade. To this the North answered that free trade 
would ruin the factory-owners and compel them to close their fac- 
tories. Congress refused to abolish the protective tariff. Then 
the feehng of opposition grew so hot in South Carolina that the 
people declared through their legislature that, after February i, 
1833, they would not pay duties on goods imported into Charles- 
ton from Europe. They considered that every state had the right 
to refuse to obey a law which it believed to be contrary to the 
Constitution.^ This refusal was called nullification. In Charleston 

port of the government, for the discharge of the debts of the United States, and the 
encouragement and protection of manufactures." Later, after we had begun to 
manufacture goods quite largely, many people came to believe that we ought to 
impose a protective tariff which would levy a heavy tax on foreign goods, similar 
to those we were making, and thus encourage buyers to purchase those made here 
rather than pay a much higher price for the imported articles. Such a protective 
tariff was imposed in 18 16, and again in 1824, 1828, and 1832. . 

In 1846 England began to let in our products free, or nearly so. From that 
date until the Civil War, in 1861, we took off our protective duties, and levied only 
a small tax for revenue. During the war we again put on a very heavy tax, in order 
to raise all the money we could to carry on the war. Since peace was declared, 
strong efforts have been made to reduce the tariff to a low rate, especially by those 
who believe that free trade between nations is, in the end, for the advantage of all. 

1 Nullification : the refusal of a state to obey a law enacted by Congress, on the 
ground that the law objected to is a violation of the Constitution. 

2 John C. Calhoun, born in Abbeville district, South Carolina, 1782 ; died 1850. 
Like Jackson, he was of Scotch-Irish descent. He entered Congress in 1810. He 
was at first a supporter of a protective tariff, but later became a strong advocate ol 
free trade. He was one of the few leading men who taught that slavery is " a posi- 
tive good," an advantage alike to the negro and to his owner. His nature was 
" as great as it was pure," Daniel Webster, his chief political opponent, said of 
him that nothing " low or meanly selfish came near the head or the heart of Mr. 
Calhoun." 

3 This was the doctrine of" State-Rights "; but the Constitution expressly estab- 
lished the Supreme Court to settle all disputes in regard to such questions. 



242 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

preparations were made to resist the collection of the duty. Gov- 
ernor Hayne, of South Carolina, threatened that if the government 
used force, his state would secede or withdraw from the Union 
and declare itself independent. 

268. Daniel Webster's Reply to Calhoun ; what we owe 
to Webster. — When, in the Senate of the United States, Gov- 
ernor Hayne boldly upheld the right of nullification, Daniel 
Webster ^ replied to him, closing with the well-known words : 
" Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable." 
Later, when Calhoun in the United States Senate defended the 
right of secession, Webster made a powerful speech, in which he 
declared that "there can be no secession without revolution." 
He saw that if a state is resolved to leave the Union, the national 
government, sword in hand, must insist that it shall remain in its 
place and obey the laws. 

We owe an immense debt to Webster's commanding eloquence 
on this subject. In the remarkable series of speeches which he 
delivered at this period (i 830-1 833), he made Americans realize 
the inestimable value and sacredness of the Union as they had 
never felt it before. When, thirty years later, the Civil War 
threatened to destroy the nation, the reverence for the Constitu- 
tion and the Union with which that great statesman had inspired 
so many hearts, made thousands willing to die to save it. The 
North and the South are now one. All discord has passed away, 
and as brothers we can join in honoring the memory of Daniel 
Webster for his services to our common country. 

1 Daniel Webster, born at Salisbury, New Hampshire, 1782 (see note 4, page 
95) ; died at his residence at Marshfield, near Boston, 1852. He graduated at 
Dartmouth College, and began the practice of law in 1805. In 1812 he was elected 
to Congress, and again in 1822. From this time forward he was constantly in 
public life, as representative, senator, or in the Cabinet. He was unquestionably 
the greatest orator this country has produced, and as a statesman he stood second 
to none. His defence of the Union in his second reply to Hayne has been called 
" the most remarkable speech ever made in the American Congress." Webster's 
" Reply to Calhoun " was delivered February 16, 1833. 




DANIEL WEBSTER. 
From a photograph from life by J. J. Haw«8, Boston. 




\ 



>^. 



< 



J 



GROWTH OF THE COUNTRY. 243 

269. Jackson's Fidelity to the Union ; his Orders to Gen- 
eral Scott ; Henry Clay obtains a New Tariff. — President 
Jackson had the same feeling that Webster had of the necessity of 
preserving the Union. He did not hke the tariff, but he was re- 
solved to enforce it so long as it remained law. He saw that what 
was called the doctrine of " State-Rights/* that is, the so-called 
right of a state to decide for itself when it would obey Congress 
and when it would not, was destructive of all government. 

The Union, said he, is at present like a bag of meal with both 
ends open. Whichever way you try to handle it, you will spill the 
meal. " I must tie the bag and save the country." 

So saying, the President ordered General Scott to go forthwith 
to Charleston and enforce the law. It was done, and the duties 
on imported goods in that city were collected as usual. 

A few months later (1833) Henry Clay, the "great peacemaker," 
succeeded in getting Congress to adopt a new tariff more accept- 
able to the South. The country could well afford to reduce its 
taxes on foreign goods, for we did not owe one dollar of public 
debt. Every claim against the government had been paid. 

270. Growth of the Country ; Extension of Railroads and 
Canals ; Use of Coal ; the Express System. — With the ex- 
ception of a very destructive fire in New York City (1835), Jack- 
son's presidency was a period of great prosperity, and of rapid 
growth for the entire country, but especially for the West. Canals 
had been opened, steamboats were running on the Great Lakes 
and the Western rivers, and the whistle of the locomotive was 
beginning to be heard beyond the Alleghanies. 

Both hard and soft coal ^ had J^een found in immense quantities 
in Pennsylvania, and they were now coming into use for manu- 
facturing as well as for other purposes. 

1 Hard or anthracite coal was not discovered until 1790. The first load taken 
to Philadelphia, in 1803, was thought to be too hard to burn, and was used, it is 
said, to mend roads with. This bed of Pennsylvania hard coal is the richest in the 
world, and has been worth more to the country than all the gold mines of California 



244 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



The increased activity of the country, in connection with steam- 
boats and railroads, gave rise to a new enterprise. A young man 
named Harnden^ conceived the plan of making a business of 
carrying parcels between Boston and New York, and shordy after 
(1839) began it. At first a small hand-bag was sufficient to hold 
all the articles sent. In that humble way he laid the foundation of 
the American express system, which now extends to every town of 
the United States, and employs millions of money and an army 
of men to do its work. 

271. Indian Wars; Growth of the West; Chicago. — The 

increased growth of the country alarmed Black Hawk, a famous 




Chicago in 1833. 



Chicago To- Day. 



Indian chief at the West, and he, at the head of a large body of 
Indians, attempted to prevent emigrants from taking possession 
of public lands in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Ilhnois.^ He was defeated 



1 William Frederick Harnden was bom in Reading, Massachusetts, in 1813 ; 
died 1845. On his monument, erected at Mount Auburn cemetery, near Boston, 
by the " Express Companies of the United States," he is called the " Founder of 
the Express Business in America." 

2 In 1835 a second Seminole war (see Paragraph 238) broke out. The Seminole 
Indians of Florida were led by Osceola, a celebrated chief, who had been badly 
treated by the whites. The war lasted nearly seven years. The Indians were 
defeated by Colonel Zachary- Taylor, and were finally conquered and, all but a few, 
sent west of the Mississippi by General Worth. The war cost nearly ^40,000,000. 



AMERICAN ART, BOOKS, AND NEWSPAPERS. 245 

and driven beyond the Mississippi. The removal of the Indians 
beyond that river greatly encouraged emigration to the Western 
states. 

On the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan stood Fort Dear- 
born. It was garrisoned by a small number of soldiers, and around 
the fort a dozen white settlers, with their families, had built as many 
rude wooden houses. Two years later (1833), the little settlement 
took the name of Chicago.^ It had then grown to be a town of be- 
tween five and six hundred inhabitants, and some of its people were 
bold enough to think that it might grow to be still larger. To-day 
the city has more than a million of inhabitants, and stands the great 
metropolis of the Northwest. 

272. American Art, Books, and Newspapers. — America 
had already produced five eminent painters — West, Copley, 
Stuart,^ Trumbull,^ and Allston.* We also had three noted 
writers. They were Cooper, the novelist, who wrote exciting 
tales of life on the sea and in the wildernesss ; Bryant, our first 
great poet ; and Washington Irving, the author of " Rip Van 
Winkle" and of scores more of delightful stories. 

But when Jackson was first elected, a book had just been pub- 
lished (1828) in this country which was in one respect more 
remarkable than any that had yet appeared, for it contained the 
whole EngHsh language."* This was Webster's Dictionary, by 

1 Chicago : an Indian name originally given to the Chicago River. It is sup- 
posed to be the name of the god of thunder ; but on this point authorities differ. 

2 See Stuart's portrait of Washington (frontispiece) . 

3 Thomas Cole was another noted artist of a somewhat later period, but he was 
not an American by birth. * Born in South Carolina, 1779, died in Cambridge, 
Mass., 1843. 

4 The best English dictionary before Webster's was Johnson's, first published in 
London in 1755. It had not really been revised for seventy years, and was very 
unsatisfactory to Americans, since it did not contain many familiar American 
words, such as "congress" (in the sense of a national legislature), "savings- 
bank," " prairie," and hundreds of others. Webster thought that America had as 
good a right to coin new words as England had. He accordingly included these 
words in his dictionary; in his definitions he was generally far superior to 
Johnson, 



246 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Noah Webster of Connecticut. It had cost the author and com- 
piler nearly twenty years of almost continuous labor, and it was 
destined to make his name and work known in every school-house 
of the United States. 

Following Webster came the poets, Whittier, Longfellow, 
Holmes, Lowell, and Poe ; Emerson, with his wonderful essays 
on nature ; Hawthorne, with his stories of New England ; Audu- 
bon, with his magnificent work on the "Birds of America";* 
Bancroft, with his history of the United States, followed by the 
historians Prescott, Motley, and Parkman. It was the beginning 
of American literature.-^ 

About the same time (1833) the first cheap newspaper ever 
published, which sold for one cent,^ appeared in New York. From 
that time forward the poorest man could afford to carry home in 
his pocket at night a daily history of the world's doings. 

273. Summary. — Four important events marked the admin- 
istration of Andrew Jackson. They were : i. The beginning of the 
system of removals from government office for political reasons ; 
2. The publication of the Liberator and the commencement of 
the anti-slavery movement by William Lloyd Garrison ; 3. Resist- 
ance to the national government, or nullification by South Caro- 
lina j 4. The rise of American literature and of cheap newspapers. 

Martin Van Buren.^ 

274. Van Buren's Administration (Eighth President, One 
Term, 1837-1841) ; Business Failures ; Financial Panic. — 

1 For interesting examples of poems connected with American history, see 
Whittier's " Laus Deo " and " Our State," Longfellow's " Paul Revere's Ride," 
Holmes's " Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill," Lowell's " Present Crisis," Emer- 
son's " Concord Hymn," and " Bryant's " Song of Marion's Men." 

2 The New York Daily Stin, 1833. * Audubon (Aw'du-bon), born in Louisiana, 1 780. 
8 Martin Van Buren was born in New York in 1782 ; died in 1862. He was 

United States Senator from 1821-1828 ; governor of New York later, and Secretary 
of State under Jackson, 1829-1831. In 1836 he was elected President (R. M. John- 
son of Kentucky, Vice-President) by the Democratic party, over General W. H. 
Harrison, the Whig candidate. 



STOPPAGE OF TRADE. 24/ 

In his farewell address, President Jackson had said, " I leave this 
great people prosperous and happy." But Mr. Van Buren had 
scarcely entered upon the duties of his office, in 1837, when a large 
business house in New Orleans failed. It was the beginning of a 
panic ^ in trade and money matters which swept over the country 
like the waters of a destroying flood. 

In ten days, one hundred merchants in New York City had lost 
everything ; and within two months, the total business failures in 
that city reached the enormous sum of one hundred millions of 
dollars. Next, the banks began to fail ; and the difficulty of getting 
gold or silver became so great that even the United States gov- 
ernment had to pay the army and navy in paper money, which, 
if it chanced to be good to-day, might be worthless to-morrow. 
John Quincy Adams declared that, " without a dollar of national 
debt, we are in the midst of national bankruptcy." 

275. Stoppage of Trade ; Distress among Workmen ; 
Failures of States; Causes of the Panic. — Soon, factories 
and mills stopped running, and nearly all trade came to a stand- 
still. Thousands of workmen were suddenly thrown out of em- 
ployment, and saw no way of earning bread for themselves and 
their famihes. 

Many states had borrowed large sums of money in Europe for 
the purpose of building roads, canals, and railways. In 1830, the 
total debt of this kind was only thirteen millions ; in seven years 
it had risen to nearly two hundred millions. It was exceedingly 
difficult, if not impossible for a number of these states " to raise 



1 Panic: sudden fright or alarm — particularly alarm without any real cause. 
Such periods occur in business from time to time, especially after several years of 
great activity and speculation ending in reckless investments and loss. The chief 
cause of a panic appears to be want of confidence. When men cease to put 
trust in each other, then the trouble begins. There may be as much money in 
the country as before ; but it has shifted into the hands of a few, and they are 
afraid to use it themselves, or to let others use it. The consequence is that prices 
fall, business stops in great measure, and much distress is produced. 

2 Seven states — Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, 



248 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

money to meet the interest; and one positively refused to pay 
anything whatever, whether interest or principal. 

There were three chief causes for this desperate state of things. 
I. After the United States Bank had ceased to exist/ a great 
number of worthless banks sprang into existence ; 2. the ease 
with which people could borrow money led to wild speculation in 
land;^ 3. the government suddenly called in the gold and silver 
which it had deposited in certain state banks, — nicknamed " pet 
banks," — and at the same time it refused to sell any more public 
land except for hard cash. This suddenly checked the fever of 
speculation, and made every one anxious to get coin at a time 
when coin was not to be had. The result was, property of all 
kinds fell in price, men could neither collect debts nor pay them, 
the banks could not redeem^ their bills, and the crash came.'* 
After a time confidence began to be restored, business sprang up, 
and a new period of prosperity commenced. 

276. The Government establishes an Independent Treas- 
ury. — This panic in business had at least one good result. 
Up to this time, the national government had never taken entire 
charge of its own money, but had let one or more banks have 
the care of it. The disastrous failure of these "pet banks" taught 

Pennsylvania, and Florida, then a territory, — suspended payment of interest. 
Mississippi repudiated her entire debt on the ground that it had been incurred in 
violation of the state constitution. Sydney Smith's " Letters on American Debts," 
Dickens's " American Notes " and " Martin Chuzzlewit " show how sore the English 
creditors felt about these failures, 

1 See Paragraph 265. 

2 Men eagerly bought land which they never saw, and never expected to see ; 
they purchased town lots at enormous prices, in the backwoods of Maine; and 
speculated in property in so-called Western " cities " that had no existence except 
on paper, or that were six feet under water. 

3 A bank is said to redeem its bills when, on demand, it pays gold or silver for 
them. If it cannot do this, its bills are worthless. 

4 During this period a rebellion broke out in Canada, and many Americans 
living on the border were eager to take part in it, with the hope of annexing Canada 
to the United States. The President's proclamation of neutrality compelled them 
to keep quiet. 



RISE OF THE MORMONS. 249 

Congress a lesson ; and the United States now established -^ an 
independent treasury at Washington, with branches, known as 
sub-treasuries,^ in the chief cities. In this way the government 
was protected against loss. We owe this excellent system mainly 
to President Van Buren. 

277. Rise of the Mormons; Nauvoo. — Toward the close 
of Van Buren's presidency, a new religious community, called 
Mormons, settled in Illinois. Its founder was Joseph Smith, 
a native of Vermont.^ While living ih New York he declared 
that an angel from heaven gave him a number of golden plates 
— like sheets of tin — on which a new scripture was written 
called the " Book of Mormon." * 

Smith went to Ohio, to Missouri, and, finally, to Illinois, where 
he and his followers — the " Latter Day Saints " or Mormons — 
built the "Holy City" of Nauvoo^ on the banks of the Missis- 
sippi. There he stated that he received a revelation from God 
declaring that every true Mormon marriage would last forever, 
and encouraging all good Mormons to marry as many wives as 

1 The independent treasury system was, however, not fully and finally established 
until 1846. During the civil war (1863) a great many new banks were created. 
These give security (by the deposit of government bonds at Washington) to the 
United States for the bills they issue ; for this reason they are called National Banks. 
The government has the right to deposit public money (except that received for 
duties) in these banks, as well as in the treasury. 

2 Sub-treasuries ; from the Latin word siib^ meaning under ; hence, subordinate, 
or smaller treasuries. The chief treasury is in the Treasury Building at Washington ; 
the sub-treasuries are in (i) New York, (2) Philadelphia, (3) Chicago, (4) Boston, 
(5) St. Louis, (6) Cincinnati, (7) San Francisco, (8) New Orleans, (9) Baltimore. 

3 Joseph Smith was born in 1805 ii^ Sharon, Vt,, and was murdered at Carthage, 
111., in 1S44. While living near Manchester, N. Y., in 1827, he states that the angel 
gave him the golden plates of the Book of Mormon. The plates, he says, were written 
in an unknown tongue, but he alleges that the angel provided him with a peculiar 
kind of glasses by which to read and translate them. The Mormons declare, " We 
believe the Bible to be the Word of God, so far as it is translated correctly ; we also 
believe the Book of Mormon to be the Word of God." 

* Mormon : a name derived from that of the alleged writer of the Book of Mormon 
a Jew,. who, as the Mormons believe, lived in this country about a thousand years 
before Columbus discovered it. 

6 Nauvoo : meaning the Beautiful City ; it had, it is said, no idlers and no drunkards. 



250 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

they found convenient. Those, said he,^ who keep this law will, 
in the next world, " pass by the angels " in glory .^ 

Shortly after this, several persons who had belonged to the 
Mormons began publishing a paper in Nauvoo, in which they 
accused Smith of leading an evil life. Smith broke up the paper. 
For this he was arrested, and while in jail at Carthage (1844) 
was shot by a mob who had no faith in him or his religion. 

278. Emigration of the Mormons to Utah ; what they 
have accomplished there. — Brigham Young of Vermont — a 
man as keen-sighted in the things of this world as it was said 
Smith had been in those of the other — now became leader of the 
Mormons ; but the people round Nauvoo forced the " Saints " to 
leave, and they crossed the Mississippi. In 1847 Young started 
for the far west, and, with about a hundred and fifty followers, 
reached Salt Lake, in what is now Utah. Later, he led a much 
larger number of Mormon emigrants to the same place. It was 
a journey of fifteen hundred miles through the wilderness. The 
country bordering on the lake was a desert. The hunters of that 
desolate region predicted that the Mormons would starve. But 
Young saw what could be done to prevent that. He set his com- 
pany to work digging ditches to bring water from the mountains ; 
every street in the village had two of these ditches running 
through the length of it, one on each side. The abundant supply 
of water soon made the dead, dry soil green with waving crops of 
wheat and corn. Industry transformed the desert into a garden. 
Since then the Mormons have prospered and grown strong. The 
village has become a city, and Utah now has a Mormon popula- 
tion of over a hundred thousand, largely made up of emigrants 
from Great Britain, Norway, and Sweden.* 

* But a very small number of Mormons have ever married more than one wife. 

2 This doctrine (see the Mormon " Book of Covenants and Doctrine ") was not fully 
published to the world until 1852. One branch of the Mormons — the " Josephites" — 
deny that Smith ever taught the doctrine, but say it was invented by Brigham Young 
and others. * In 1890 the United States Supreme Court declared the property 

of the Mormon Church forfeited to the United States for violation of the laws of 
Congress against polygamy. Later, the same year the Mormon Church declared that 
it would obey the United States law and renounce polygamy. 



EMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES. 25 1 

279. Emigration to the United States. — While the Mor- 
mons were getting a foothold in the far West, an immense emi- 
gration from Europe to the United States had begun. A regular 
line of steamships was established between Liverpool and Boston 
in 1840/ and, soon after, similar communication was established 
with New York. By means of these steamers, and of lines of 
passenger vessels, emigrants now began to pour in at the rate 
of over three thousand a week; and in the course of the next 
ten years (i 840-1 850) nearly two millions had come to settle 
here — or nearly twice as many as had landed in this country 
during the preceding forty years. Since then the stream of emi- 
grants has never ceased, and the whole number who have thus 
become American citizens is estimated at sixteen millions.^ 

280. Summary. — This period began with a disastrous panic 
in trade by which great numbers were ruined ; it was followed by 
the establishment by the government of the independent treasury 
system ; then came the movement of the Mormons to Utah, and 
vastly increased emigration from Europe to the United States. 

William Henry Harrison and John Tyler. 

281. Harrison and Tyler*s Administrations (Ninth and 
Tenth Presidents, One Term, 1841-1845) ; how Harrison 

was elected; his Death. — General Harrison,^ "the hero of 

«i 

1 The first English steamships which came here were the Sirius and the Great 
Western, both of which arrived in New York on the same day, in the spring of 
1838. Sir Samuel Cunard established the first regular line (between Liverpool and 
Boston) in 1840. 

2 The Irish famine in 1845-6, owing to the sudden failure of the potato crop^ 
was one chief cause of this unusual increase of emigration. Of the different nation- 
alities, Ireland sent the greatest number; then Germany (nearly as many as Ireland) ; 
then England; and last of all, France and other countries. 

3 William Henry Harrison was born in Virginia in 1773. His father, Benjamin 
Harrison, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. From iSoi 
to 1813 Harrison was governor of what was then theterritoiy of Indiana. In 1811 
he defeated the Indians in a great battle at Tippecanoe, Indiana (see Paragraph 



252 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Tippecanoe," was elected President amidst the wildest excitement. 
The Democrats had carried the day for forty years ; * now their 
opponents, the Whigs,^ were to be victors. Harrison was then 
living on his farm, in a clearing on the banks of the Ohio. He 
was popularly known as " the Log-Cabin candidate.'* The farmers 
of the West gathered to his support with a will. They had 
monster out-door meetings, and processions miles long,^ in which 
a log-cabin on wheels was always a conspicuous object, with 
its live coon fastened on the roof, and its barrel of hard cider 
standing handy by the open door. The enthusiasm increased 
more and more as election day drew near ; the rousing song of 
"Tippecanoe and Tyler too" stirred the blood of every true 
Whig; and with shouts of exultation, the West triumphed, and 
the occupant of the Ohio log-cabin entered the White House at 
Washington. 

A month later. President Harrison died, and the joy of his 
friends was suddenly changed into mourning. Vice-President 
Tyler, who was practically a Democrat,* now became President ; * 
and he and the Whig Congress were soon quarrelling over political 



225). During the war of 1812 he was appointed a major-general in the regular 
army, Later, he returned to his farm at North Bend, on the Ohio, near Cincinnati. 
In 1840 he was elected President (John Tyler of Virginia, Vice-President) by the 
Whig party, by an immense majority over Van Buren, the Democratic candidate. 
1 Since the election of Jefferson in 1800. 

3 The Whigs wished (1) to have the government carry on the building of canals, 
roads, and other internal improvements; (2) to protect manufactures by a high 
tariff; (3) to re-establish the United States Bank, and part of the Whigs wished to 
restrict the extension of slavery. The Democrats held that lach state should make . 
its own improvements ; that free trade was better than protection ; an independent j 
treasury, than a United States bank ; and that slavery should be left to the people 
of the different states. 

8 This was the beginning of our modern presidential " campaigns," with their 
bands of music and torchlight proll^sions. ■ 

4 Tyler was in most respects a Democrat, though he had acted, to some extent, 1 
with the Whigs. The Whigs nominated him to the Vice-Presidency in order to I 
secure Southern votes, and thus make sure of electing Harrison. 

6 In case of the death of the President, the Constitution provides that the Vice- j 
President shall succeed him. See the Constitution, page xii, Paragraph 2. 



THE DORR REBELLION. 253 

questions about which there was no chance of their coming to any 
agreement. 

282. The Dorr Rebellion ; the Ashburton Treaty ; the 
Anti-Renters. — In Rhode Island, the right to vote was confined 
to persons holding real estate, and to their eldest sons. Newport, 
where there were many land-holders, had six representatives in 
the state legislature, while Providence, with a population nearly 
three times as great, had only four. The party in favor of reform 
finally framed a new constitution, and elected (1842) Thomas W. 
Dorr for governor. The opposite, or state government party, 
headed by Governor King, denied Dorr's right to hold office. 
Both sides took up arms, but no blood was spilt, and nobody was 
hurt even. Dorr was arrested and thrown into prison, but was 
released a few years later, and lived to see his party successful in 
the reform they had attempted. 

In the summer of 1842, Daniel Webster, representing the United 
States, and Lord Ashburton, representing Great Britain, settled 
the question of the boundary between Maine and Canada, by an 
agreement known as the Ashburton Treaty. The dispute in 
regard to the true line between the two countries had been very 
bitter, and threatened to bring on war ; for this reason the friendly 
settlement of the controversy was of the greatest advantage to 
both England and America.^ 

In New York, the tenants of the Van Rensselaer family, on the 
Hudson,^ refused to pay rent for their farms, on the ground that 
the Revolution had swept away the old Dutch methods of letting 
land. It became necessary to call out a military force to protect 
the sheriff in his attempts to collect the rents ; finally, a political 



1 During the progress of the negotiation of the treaty, Mr. Webster practically 
settled another question of equal importance, by his formal declaration to Lord 
Ashburton, that in future the United States would insist that our flag should protect 
our vessels against the so-called " right of search," on the part of Great Britain; 
and that any attempt to make such search would be considered by us a reason 
lor war. See further on this treaty, page 258, note 2. 

2 See Paragfraph 63. 



254 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

party was formed (1843), favoring the anti-renters/ and a change 
was made (1846) in the state constitution for their benefit. 

283. The Electric Telegraph ; Dr. Morton's Discovery. — 

In the spring of 1844, travellers from Baltimore to Washington 
saw a force of men engaged in putting up several lines of copper 
wire on a row of lofty poles extending between the two cities. It 
was the first telegraph line erected in the United States. After 
four years of weary waiting, Professor Morse ^ had at length got a 
grant of thirty thousand dollars from Congress, for the purpose of 
proving that a message could be sent by electricity a distance 
of forty miles ! 

On the morning of May 24, 1844, Professor Morse took his 
seat at the telegraphic •instrument placed in the Supreme Court 
Room in the Capitol. Many of the chief officers of the govern- 
ment were present. The professor pressed the key of the instru- 
ment with his finger. In an instant, the waiting operator at 
Baltimore received the message, and it was sent back to the 
Capitol. Here it is : 

What hath GOD 
.. 3 

w r u g h t. 

In a minute of time these words had traversed a circuit of eighty 
miles. When they were read in the Court Room a thrill of awe 
ran through those who reverently listened ; it seemed as though 
the finger of God, not man, had written the message.^ 

1 Anti-renters : from the Latin word anti, against ; hence, those opposed to 
paying the rent demanded by the proprietors of the land. 

2 Samuel F. B. Morse was born in Charlestown, Mass., 1791 ; died in New York, 
1872. He became an artist, and in 1830 was elected Professor of the Literature of 
the Arts of Design in the University of the City of New York. He conceived the 
idea of the electric telegraph in 1832, and from that time worked on it until it was 
successfully completed. He received very important help from Mr. Alfred Vail of N. J. 

3 The characters over the printed letters represent the letters of the telegraphic 
alphabet. The words are quoted from the Bible ; Numbers xxiii. 23. 

* Before the completion of the first line of telegraph, Professor Morse wrote to a 



ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 255 

In 18 7 1, at a celebration held in New York in honor of Professor 
Morse, the original instrument invented by him was exhibited, 
connected, at that moment, by wire, with every one of the ten 
thousand instruments then in use in this country. At a signal, a 
message from the inventor was sent vibrating throughout the 
United States, and was simultaneously read in every city and in 
most towns of the republic, from New York to New Orleans, from 
New Orleans to San Francisco. 

Thought had conquered space ; it was to make its next con- 
quest in a wholly different direction. While Professor Morse was 
building his experimental line between Washington and Baltimore, 
Dr. William T. G. Morton of Boston was endeavoring to produce 
artificial sleep by the breathing of the vapor of ether. He be- 
lieved that, if successful, all suffering under the surgeon's knife 
would be at an end. He did succeed; and shortly after (1846), 
the great fact was made known to the world by tests made at the 
Massachusetts Hospital in Boston. As the inscription on Dr. 
Morton's monument truthfully declares : " Before that discovery, 
surgery was agony ; since, science has controlled pain." ^ 

284. Annexation of Texas. — The great political question 
of the times was the admission of Texas. Many years before 
this period, Stephen F. Austin, General Sam Houston, with other 

friend (1843) : " Telegraphic communication may with certainty be established 
across the Atlantic Ocean. Startling as this may now seem, I am confident the 
time will come when this project will be realized." He lived to see it accomplished 
in 1858, and permanently in 1866. 

1 Between 1820 and 1846 the following remarkable inventions were made in this 
country: i. Blanchard's Eccentric Lathe for turning gun-stocks and other irregu- 
lar forms; 2. McCormick's Reaper and Mow^er ; 3. Colt's Revolver; 4. Ericsson's 
Screw Propeller for Steam Vessels ; 5. Goodyear's Hard Rubber goods; 6. Hoe's 
Steam Printing-Press ; 7. Howe's Sewing-Machine. 

There were also introduced during that period the following inventions from 
abroad : i. Knitting Machines. 2. Planing Machines (greatly improved in 1828 
by Woodworth). 3. Friction Matches, 1836 (gas had been introduced in 1822). 

4. The Steam Fire Engine, 1841, but not brought into practical use until much later. 

5. The Daguerreotype and Photograph, about 1843. 6. The Diving-Dress, or 
Armor, about 1843. 



256 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Americans, had settled in that country, — then a part of Mexico, 
— and had finally, by force of arms, made it an independent 
republic. That republic now asked to be annexed to the United 
States. A powerful party at the South was anxious to obtain it 
for the purpose of making a number of new slave states, and thus 
maintaining their influence in Congress.^ The Anti-Slavery party 
at the North strongly opposed the annexation ; ^ but Congress, 
after much debate, decided to make it. Thus, in the spring of 
1845, we obtained a territory so vast that, as Daniel Webster said, 
a bird could not fly over it in a week — a territory large enough 
to make nearly five countries the size of England, or more than 
that number of states, each larger than New York. 

285. Summary. — The principal events of the Harrison and 
Tyler administrations were : (i) The death of the President; fol- 
lowed (2) by the Ashburton Treaty; (3) the Dorr Rebellion; (4) 
the opening of the first line of electric telegraph in the United 
States; (5) the use of ether in surgery; and (6) the annexation 
of Texas. 

James K. Polk. 

286. Polk's Administration (Eleventh President, One 
Term, 1845-1849) ; the Question of the Possession of Ore- 
gon. — Congress had decided to annex Texas ; ^ and now, when 
Mr. Polk ^ entered office, the first question was, what should be 
done about Oregon. We claimed the whole country west of the 

1 By the Missouri Compromise (see Paragraph 243) slavery could not be ex- 
tended west of the Mississippi, outside of Missouri, north of 36° 30' (the southern 
boundary of Missouri). Unless, therefore, the South got more territory annexed 
southwest of the Mississippi, the North would soon have the chief power in 
Congress. 

2 James Russell Lowell's fine poem, " The Present Crisis," expresses the feeling 
of the Anti-Slavery party at this time. 3 See Paragraph 284. 

4 James K. Polk (pronounced Poke) was born in North Carolina, 1795 ; died, 
1849. He emigrated with his father to Tennessee in 1806; and was elected governor 
of that state in 1839. In 1844 he was elected President by the Democrats (George 
M. Dallas of Pennsylvania, Vice-President), over Henry Clay, the Whig candidate. 



DR. whitman's journey TO WASHINGTON. 257 

Rocky Mountains, north of California (then a part of Mexico), to 
Alaska; that is, from parallel 42° to 54° 40'.^ But Great Britain 
also claimed more than half the northern part of this region, and 
especially the Columbia River,^ which was of immense importance. 
The English Hudson Bay Company wanted the country mainly 
for the fur trade ; and on that account they wished to keep it a 
wilderness where they could hunt wild animals. 

287. Dr. Whitman's Journey to Oregon. — It is quite prob- 
able that the English might have got it, had it not been for the 
energy of Dr. Marcus Whitman of New York, who had gone as a 
missionary to Walla Walla ^ nine years before. He went out with 
fi wagon in which he took his bride. The English, who were 
alarmed at this resolute attempt of Dr. Whitman's to open up a 
passage on wheels to the country they coveted, told him that his 
wagon would be broken to splinters in crossing the mountains. 
Whitman and his young wife persisted in going on, and after many 
formidable upsets and breakages they finally reached their destina- 
tion, though the wagon had to be left at Fort Boise,* and brought 
on later. The Indians, who had never seen a wagon before, looked 
on in admiration ; they called it " chick-chick-shain-le-kai-kash," 
because, said they, it used to go "chick-chick" over the soft grass, 
but ^^kai-kash ! " when it struck the rocks. 

288. Dr. Whitman's Journey to Washington ; how we got 
Oregon ; the Treaty. — After a number of years' residence in 
Oregon, Dr. Whitman found that the English were about to make 
a determined effort to take possession of the country ; he saw that 
the only way to prevent it was to form a settlement of American 
emigrants. There was no time to be lost. In the autumn of 1842, 
the doctor started on a journey of four thousand miles — most of 
the way on horseback — to W^ashington. His sufferings on the 

1 For the grounds of this claim, see Paragraph 216. 

2 See note 3, on page 205. * Now Boise City, Idaho. 

3 Walla Walla : now in the state of Washington, near the Oregon boundary. 



258 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



way were terrible ; he had to face winter storms in the mountains, 
the terrors of starvation and of attacks from Indians. Several 
times he nearly perished from cold and hunger ; but he kept on, 
and in five months reached the National Capitol. He succeeded in 
proving to Congress that Oregon was not the rough, inhospitable, 
inaccessible country it was supposed to be. When he returned 
(1843), he went as guide and leader of a train of two hundred 
emigrant families bound with their wagons for the valley of the 

_ Columbia River. Others 

^tio'] followed, from that day on ; 
and by the time that Polk 
became President we had 
such a strong hold on the 
territory that the cry in 1846 
was, "The British must go " 
— " The whole of Oregon, or 
none " — " Fifty- four-forty, 
or fight ! " ^ But later in the 
same year (1846) the United 
States and Great Britain 
made a treaty by which they agreed to divide the country be- 
tween them. We took the portion between the boundary of 
upper Mexico (now California), or 42°, and the parallel of 49° 
north, including the Columbia River; the English took the re- 
mainder, from 49°,^ to Alaska. Our part included what is now 
the state of Oregon, with Washington and Idaho — a territory so 
immense that if a map of it be placed on that of the eastern 




1 In other words, we insisted that the British must give up the entire country 
below 54° 40', or fight. On the whole, our claim to the territory, through Captain 
Gray's discovery of the Columbia River, and Lewis and Clarke's expedition (see 
Paragraph 216), was better than that of the English. 

2 According to the terms of the Ashburton Treaty (see Paragraph 282) the 
boundary line west, between the Lake of the Woods, Minnesota, and the Rocky 
Mountains, was fixed at the forty-ninth parallel. This new treaty now extended 
that line through to the Pacific. The boundary is marked by mounds, heaps of 
stones, posts, and cast-iron pillars ; the pillars are placed just a mile apart. 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 



259 



coast, it would reach from New York to Florida, and extend 
westward nearly to the Tennessee River, covering in all about 
two hundred and fifty-five thousand square miles. 

289. The Mexican War ; Battles of Palo Alto and Resaca 
de la Palma. — But though the Oregon Treaty settled the fact 
that we should not fight with Great Britain, yet we were soon at 
war with our next-door neighbor, the feeble republic of Mexico. 
Texas had been admitted as a state (1845), but the western 
boundary was a matter of dispute. Texas insisted that the line 
was at the Rio Grande ^ River ; Mexico denied this, and declared 

that it was on the Nueces^ River, about 
a hundred miles east of the Rio Grande. 

The President commanded General 
Taylor to seize the strip of land between 
the rivers. To quote General Grant's 
words, our troops were sent there *'to 
provoke a fight." ^ Mexico was weak, but 
not cowardly. The Mexican government 
ordered Taylor to leave the eastern bank 
of the Rio Grande, where he held Fort 
Brown. He refused, and the Mexicans 
crossed the river (April 23, 1846), and shed the first blood.* 
Soon after. General Taylor — or "Old Rough and Ready," as his 
men called him — gained the victory in the battle of Palo Alto 
(May 8, 1846) ;* and the next day (May 9), that of Resaca de 




SCALE OF MILES 



fiO 100 



200 



300 



1 Rio Grande (Spanish pronunciation, Ree'o Gran'day ; but it is better to 
pronounce it as English). Texas also claimed an immense territory on the North- 
west, extending to the forty-second parallel. 

2 Nueces (Nwa'ses ; but pronounce as in English). 

3 See " Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant," I. 68. 

4 The blood was shed on territory claimed by Mexico ; but the President's 
message stated that it had been spilt on " our own territory." Abraham Lincoln, 
then in Congress, demanded, in a series of resolutions, known as the " Spot " reso- 
lutions, to be informed where the exact " spot " of this bloodshed was, and whether 
it had not been provoked by a body of armed Americans sent there by order ol 
our government. 6 Palo Alto (Fah'lo Alto, or High Trees). 



26o LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

la Palma.^ The Mexicans now retreated across the Rio Grande, 
and Taylor followed them, and took possession of the town of 
Matamoras.^ / 

290. Congress declares War ; Battles of Monterey and 
Buena Vista; Conquest of California and New Mexico. — 

Congress now (May 13, 1846) declared war against Mexico, and 
thousands of volunteers, mainly from the Southern and South- 
western States, enlisted to fight against her. 

In the autumn (September 24, 1846) General Taylor attacked 
the Mexicans at Monterey, and took the town after a desperate 
battle of four days.^ Early the next year, Santa Anna, the Mexi- 
can president and commander-in-chief, led a force of twenty 
thousand men against Taylor, who had only about a fourth of that 
number. The battle was fought at Buena Vista,^ in the mountains 
(February 23, 1847). We had the advantage of position; and, 
after an all day's fight, the Mexicans retreated. Among the 
Southern ofificers, Colonel Jefferson Davis of Mississippi particu- 
larly distinguished himself, and was highly commended by General 
Taylor. 

This victory gave us possession of Northeastern Mexico, and 
won for General Taylor, who here fought his last battle,^ the presi- 
dency of the United States two years later. Meanwhile (1846) 
an American fleet with the help of Colonel Fremont had conquered 
California ; and General Kearney had seized Santa F6, and with 
it the territory now called New Mexico. 

291. General Scott sent to Mexico ; he takes Vera Cruz ; 
Victory of Cerro Gordo. — General Scott had now been ordered 
to Mexico with a second army. His plan was to land at Vera 

1 Resaca de la Palma (Ra-sah'ka da-lah Pal'mah, the Ravine of the Palm tree). 

2 Matamoras (Mat'a-mo'ras). 

3 See Hoffman's poem of " Monterey," in " Heroic Ballads," published by Ginn 
&Co. 

4 Buena Vista (Bwa'nah Vees'tah, Good View). 

6 General Taylor returned to the United States in November, 1847. 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 



261 



Cruz,^ and march directly on the city of Mexico, two hundred 
miles distant. After nine days' fighting he took (March 27, 1847) 
Vera Cruz and the strong fortress of San Juan de Ulua,^ which 
defended it by sea, and which was considered to be the " Gibraltar 
of Mexico." General Scott said that this important victory was 
due in great measure to the remarkable engineering skill of Cap- 
tain Robert E. Lee of Virginia, who fourteen years later was to 
command the Confederate Army in the Civil War. Then pushing 

forward, Scott fought a bat- 
tle at the mountain pass of 
Cerro Gordo ^ (April 18, 
1847), driving the Mexi- 
cans before him. Late in 
the summer (1847) ^^ 
crossed the last ridge of 
mountains, and saw the 




spires and towers of the 
capital of Mexico glittering in the sun. The city is situated in 
a valley. It was surrounded with fortifications, and could only 
be reached by a few narrow causeways — or raised roads of stone 
— built across the marshes. Scott had about eleven thousand 
men to attack an army which numbered more than three to his 
one, while the city itself had a population of nearly two hundred 
thousand. 

292. Victories in the Vicinity of the City of Mexico; 
the City taken; Results of the War. — With heavy loss to 
ourselves as well as to the enemy, we fought and won in a single 
day (August 20, 1847) a succession of battles^ near the city, 
— every one ending in victory to our arms. A few weeks later 
(September 8, 1847) we attacked and carried the fortified mill 



1 Vera Cruz (Va'rah Kroos, the True Cross). 

2 San Juan de Ulua, or UUoa, (San Wahn da Oo~loo'ah). 
9 Cerro Gordo : Great Hill. 

4 These were the battles of Contreras, San Antonio and Churubusco. 



262 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

of Molino del Rey,^ and five days afterwards (September 13, 
1847) we took the castle of Chapultepec.^ 

The next morning (September 14, 1847) Scott's little army, 
now numbering only six thousand men, entered the city of Mexico, 
and hoisted the " stars and stripes " over the ancient palace, or 
so-called Halls of the Montezumas.^ In the conquering army 
there was a young lieutenant from Ohio, destined to be better 
known at a later period of our history — his name was Ulysses S. 
Grant.* 

The fall of the city of Mexico practically ended the war, which 
had lasted less than two years. . It is, perhaps, the only war 
recorded in history in which all the victories were on one side ; 
for our troops gained every battle, and gained it in every instance 
against a larger force. 

By a treaty of peace signed early in 1848 we obtained the 
territory of California and New Mexico, with undisputed possession 
of Texas — or in all, nearly a million of square miles.'^ Another 

1 Molino del Rey (Mo-lee'no del Ray) : the King's Mill. ' 

2 Chapultepec (Chah-pool-tay-pek). 

3 The Mon-te-zu'mas were the rulers of Mexico at the time of the Spanish con- 
quest by Cortez (see Paragraph 19). The palace, which we called the "'Halls of 
the Montezumas," was built by the Spanish successors of Cortez. 

■* General Grant says, in his " Personal Memoirs," I. 53, that he considered the 
Mexican war " one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker 
nation." 

The feeling against the war in New England found witty and able expression in 
Lowell's " Biglow Papers " (First Series). 

5 See map on page 331. We, however, paid Mexico ^15,000,000 for the territory, 
besides assuming certain debts of hers, amounting to about ^3,000,000 more. We 
had previously assumed the debt of Texas, of ^7,500,000 ; so that the whole cost 
of the entire territory, exclusive of the expense of the war, was ^25,500,000. This 
was thought to be an enormous outlay, and, as it had been incurred through the 
annexation of Texas, many people grumbled, and said that " Texas " was simply 
" Taxes," with the letters differently arranged. 

During the war, Congressman Wilmot, a Pennsylvania Democrat, endeavored to 
get a bill passed, called the " Wilmot Proviso," prohibiting slavery in any part of 
the territory acquired from Mexico ; but the bill failed to become law. Many of 
those Democrats who had voted for it now united with a part of the Whigs and 
with anti-slavery men, to form a new party called the " Free Soilers" — later (1856) 
they became the present Republican party. 



DISCOVERY OF GOLD. 263 

result of the war was that it eckicated many of the officers who 
fought in it, or were connected with it (such men as Grant, Lee, 
Sherman, and "Stonewall" Jackson) for the battle-fields of the 
Civil War.i 

293. Discovery of Gold in California. — At the close of 
the Mexican War Colonel Mason was left in charge of California 
as military governor, and William T. Sherman — since. General 
Sherman — acted as one of his chief officers. In the spring of 
1848 two men came to the governor's headquarters at Monterey,'^ 
and asked to see him. They were shown into his office. Pres- 
ently Colonel Mason called to Sherman to come in. On the table 
were several little papers containing small bits of yellowish metal. 
"What is that?" said the governor to Sherman. "I touched it," 
adds the general, " examined one or two of the large pieces, and 
asked, ' Is it gold .? ' " ^ It was gold. Some men had found it in 
digging a mill-race for a saw-mill for Captain Sutter, on a fork of 
the American River,* near Coloma, about a hundred miles north- 
east of San Francisco. 

San Francisco was then a little village of about four hundred 
inhabitants. When the news ot the " great find " was spread 
abroad, nearly every person started for the mines. Houses were 
left half-built ; fields half-plowed. Every man that could possibly 
get away bought a shovel and hurried off to dig his fortune out of 
the golden sands. 

294. Emigration to California ; Results of the Discovery 
of Gold. — The next spring (1849) the "gold fever" reached the 
Eastern States ; and a great rush of emigration, by both land and 
sea, began for California. Many died of sickness contracted in 

1 Nearly every prominent officer in both armies in our Civil War served in the 
war with Mexico. 

2 Monterey : about ninety miles south of San Francisco, on the coast. 
« " Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman," I. 68. 

* The American River is a tributary of the Sacramento. Coloma is in El 
Dorado County. See map on page 331. 



264 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY, 

crossing the Isthmus of Panama ; multitudes more perished on the 
overland route across the continent. From the Rocky Mountains 
to the Sierras the track of the emigrants was marked by the skele- 
tons of horses and oxen, and by barrels, boxes, and household 
goods thrown away along the road. But notwithstanding the loss 
of life, and the fact that many turned back, discouraged at the 
hardships of the undertaking, still, over eighty thousand men suc- 
ceeded in reaching California before the end of that year. From 
an insignificant settlement San Francisco suddenly sprang into a 
city of twenty thousand inhabitants, which has since rapidly in- 
creased, and, at its present rate of growth, will soon reach half 
a million. But the great majority of the emigrants hurried off to 
the gold diggings, where, with pan and shovel,^ they were speedily 
engaged in collecting the shining particles of that precious metal 
which most men find it so hard to get, and also so hard to hold. 
In the course of the next seven years (1849-185 6) between four 
and five hundred millions were obtained, but costing in labor, 
says the leading historian of California,^ three times what the gold 
was actually worth. A few gained the riches they so eagerly sought, 
but the greater part barely made a living by the most exhausting 
toil. Eagerness for wealth naturally brought bad men as well as 
good to this land of promise. At times these reckless adventurers 
made serious trouble. But the stern hand of a Vigilance Com- 
mittee, organized by a majority of the best citizens of San Fran- 
cisco,* speedily taught desperadoes and thieves that life and 
property must be respected. 

In the end the discovery of gold had great results for good. 
First of all, it gave us firm possession of the Pacific coast, since 
it rapidly settled the wilderness of California with a population of 
energetic and determined men. Next, by increasing the amount 

1 At first, much of the gold was taken from the beds of small streams and their 
vicinity. It was done by sifting out the sand, or washing the earth, in pans or other- 
wise. When the surface mining gave out, men began to cut down the liills by direct- 
ing powerful streams of water against them, and then washing the gravel and dirt for 
gold. Most of the gold now obtained in California is from quartz rock, which is 
broken to pieces by stamping-mills. * " To punish incendiaries and other criminals." 

2 Bancroft's " Pacific States," Vol. XVIII. 



TAYLOR AND FILLMORE's ADMINISTRATIONS. 265 

of gold in circulation, it stimulated trade, industry, and commerce, 
not only throughout the United States, but throughout the civilized 
world. New lines of steamships were started, new lines of rail- 
roads built, new markets opened for goods and produce, new mills 
and factories established. Finally, when the gold in the sands 
began to give out, men then found the real, inexhaustible wealth 
of the country in its fields of grain,* its vineyards, its orange 
plantations, its sheep and cattle farms. These make it a true land 
of gold, and of gold which is forever growing, forever increasing. 

295. Summary. — James K. Polk's presidency opened with 
our getting possession of Oregon. The Mexican War followed, 
resulting in our obtaining California and New Mexico. The period 
closed with the discovery of gold, and with an immense emigra- 
tion to California. 

Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore. 

296. Taylor and Fillmore's Administrations (Twelfth 
and Thirteenth Presidents, One Term, 1849-1853) ; the 
Question of the Extension of Slavery. — When General Taylor ^ 
became President, the North and the South were already engaged 
in fierce dispute in regard to the territory gained through the 
Mexican War. Texas had been admitted as a slave state — it 
was the last slave state that entered the Union ; next, Congress 
was called on to determine whether California and New Mexico 
should be permitted to hold slaves. 



1 Farming in California is often carried on on an immense scale. There are 
single fields of wheat and barley of thousands of acres in extent. 

2 General Taylor was born in Virginia, 1784. A few years later his father 
removed with his family to Louisville, Kentucky. Taylor entered the regular army 
in 1808. In 1840 he bought a plantation, and settled at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 
His career in Mexico has already been traced. He was elected President by the 
Whigs, over Lewis Cass, the Democratic candidate, and Martin Van Buren, the 
Free-Soil candidate. President Taylor died July 9, 1850, and was succeeded by 
Vice-President Millard Fillmore. General Taylor owned a large number of slaves ; 
but in political action he belonged to no party, and did not favor the extension of 
slavery to new territory. He was a brave, true, and conscientious man. 



266 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

This question of the spread of slavery had now come to be of 
greater importance and of greater danger to the country than any 
other. It acted Hke a wedge, gradually forcing the North and 
the South further and further apart. The reason was that the 
two sections had come to be wholly unlike. At the North, the 
laborer was free ; whatever he earned was his own. At the South, 
he was not free ; and what he earned was his master's. The 
North with free labor had steadily increased in population and 
in wealth ; the South with slave labor had made but little real 
progress. Most people at the North now considered slavery a 
positive evil ; but a strong party at the South, under Calhoun, 
held, in spite of all the facts pointing to the contrary, that it was a 
positive good. This difference in belief led to the struggle about 
the new territory. The South was the more determined because 
it was only by getting new slave states — thus bringing in senators 
and representatives — that it could maintain its power in Congress. 
If that power were once really lost, the foremost Southern leaders 
feared that their whole system of labor would be destroyed, that 
the negroes would be set free, and that they would by and by get 
the control of that part of the country. 

297. Dispute about Slavery; the Danger of Disunion; 
the Compromise of 1850; the Fugitive-Slave Law. — The 

longer the dispute about slavery in the new territory went on, 
the hotter it grew. Three methods of settlement were proposed. 
The extreme Southern men said. Every citizen of the United 
States has the right to go to any part of the country he pleases, 
and take his property — including his negroes — with him. Give 
us, said they, that right, and we ask no more. But the Free-Soil 
men answered. We will have no more slave states. All territory 
shall come in free. Finally, a third class said : Congress has 
no right to meddle in this matter, one way or the other. The 
people of the territories are the sovereigns ; ^ let them decide 

1 This was called " Popular Sovereignty," or " Squatter Sovereignty," because 
it left the question to the settlers (sometimes called " squatters ") of the new 
territories. 



THE DANGER OF DISUNION. 267 

for themselves between freedom and slavery. Their \vill shall be 
law. 

Meantime, California asked admission as a free state. President 
Taylor, though himself a large slaveholder, strongly favored its 
admission ; but Calhoun and his party just as strongly opposed it. 
The feeling became so violent and bitter that it seemed to many 
that the Union must be broken up, and that, instead of one nation, 
we should split into a Northern and a Southern Republic. 

At this time of peril, Henry Clay, " the Peacemaker," came 
forward in Congress with a compromise,^ or plan of settlement.^ 
He said: i. Let California come in as a free state. 2. In the 
remainder of the territory, obtained from Mexico, let the people 
determine for themselves how they will come in. 3. All runaway 
slaves found at the North shall be arrested, and, without trial by 
jury, they shall be returned to their masters. 

Daniel Webster employed his eloquence to get Congress to vote 
for this compromise, including the new Fugitive-Slave Law ; ^ for 
he believed that if it was rejected, the country would be lost. 
Many people at the North denounced him, as John Quincy Adams 
once did, as "a heartless traitor to the cause of human freedom " ; 



1 Compromise : see note 3, page 225. 

2 Clay's Compromise Bill contained so many points that it was called the " Om- 
nibus Bill." In it he proposed to conciliate the North by: i. Admitting California 
as a free state. 2. By abolishing the slave trade (but not slavery) in the District 
of Columbia. 

On the other hand, he endeavored to conciliate the moderate party in the South 
by : I. Leaving the question of slavery in New Mexico and Utah (acquired from 
Mexico), to the people of those territories. 2. To conciliate all parties in the 
South, he proposed a more effective Fugitive-Slave Law than that of 1793, which 
rested on a provision of the Constitution (see the Constitution, page xiv). The 
Omnibus Bill was passed at last, not as one, but as several bills (September, 1850). 

Henry Clay, though a slaveholder, was opposed to the extension of slavery into 
new territory, and used all his influence to get his own state (Kentucky) to abolish 
slavery, but without success. 

3 Mr. Webster, however, wished to have this law modified so as to secure trial 
by jury to negroes arrested as fugitives, in case they denied that they were runaway 
slaves. His efforts to secure this change were unsuccessfiil. See Curtis's " Life 
gf Webster," II. 422, 423. 



268 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

but Horace Greeley, a strong Abolitionist, declared that the great 
majority, both North and South, agreed with Mr. Webster.^ 

298. Passage of the Fugitive-Slave Law ; its Results ; 
the *< Underground Railroad**; the *< Higher Law.** — 

During the debate on the Fugitive- Slave Law, President Taylor 
died, and was succeeded by Vice-President Fillmore. The law, 
with the other compromise measures, passed in the autumn of 
1850, and it was hoped that peace was secured. But it was only 
a hollow peace, Hke the quiet of a smouldering fire, ready to 
break out at any moment in a conflagration. 

As soon as the slave-owners of the South attempted to secure 
their runaway negroes at the North there were riots and rescues. 
In Boston, a fugitive named Shadrach was taken from the officers 
and carried off to a place of safety ; and in Syracuse, New York, 
one named Jerry received his liberty in the same way. Several 
Northern states now passed laws to protect negroes and prevent 
their being sent back to slavery. Many persons, out of pity for 
the escaped slaves, banded themselves together to help them 
privately to get to Canada. This method got the name of the 
" Underground Railroad " ; and hundreds, if not thousands, of 
trembling fugitives owed their liberty to the quickness and secrecy 
of this peculiar system of travel. 

In no country in the world is law more respected than in 
America — because here the mass of the people themselves make 
the laws. But now for the first time many men began to say, as 
William H. Seward of New York did in the United States Senate : 
Above the Constitution and all acts of Congress there is a " Higher 
Law " — a divine law of justice and of freedom which compels us 
through conscience not to obey the order of the government, and 
not to return the fugitive to his master. 

299. << Uncle Tom's Cabin** ; Charles Sumner and Jeffer- 
son Davis. — This feeling of opposition was suddenly intensified 



1 See Horace Greeley's "American Conflict." 



PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION. 269 

throughout the North by the pubUcation in 1852 of Mrs. Stowe's 
"Uncle Tom's Cabin.'" It was in every respect a remarkable 
book — one written from the heart to the heart. It meant to be 
truthful, to be fair, to be kind. In a single year two hundred thou- 
sand copies were sold in this country, and in a short time the total 
sales here had reached half a million copies. Mrs. Stowe's object 
was to show what the life of the slave really was — to show its 
bright and happy side, as well as its dark and cruel side. People 
who took up the book could not lay it down until they had finished 
it. They laughed and cried, and laughed again, over " Topsy," 
" Eva," and " Uncle Tom " ; but they ended with tears in their 
eyes. No arguments, no denials, could shake the influence of the 
story. From this time onward a silent revolution was going on. 
The forces for slavery and those against it were girding themselves 
up for the terrible struggle. The great leaders of the nation on 
both sides — Clay, Webster, Calhoun — had died before the close 
of 1 85 2. New men were taking their places in Congress — Charles 
Sumner representing the North ; Jefferson Davis, the South. In 
the battles which these two men fought in words we have the 
beginning of that contest which was soon to end in civil war. 
Both felt that the time was very soon coming when the republic 
must stand wholly free or wholly on the side of slavery. 

300. Summary. — The four chief events of the Taylor and 
Fillmore administrations were : ( i ) the debate on the extension of 
slavery in the new territory gained by the Mexican War; (2) the 
Compromise Measures of 1850, with the Fugitive-Slave Law; (3) 
the publication of " Uncle Tom's Cabin " ; and (4) the beginning 
of the final struggle in Congress between the North and the 
South. 

Franklin Pierce. 

301. Pierce's Administration (Fourteenth President, One 
Term, 1853-1857) ; the " World»s Fair " at New York 
City ; American Labor-Saving Machines. — The summer fol- 



(( 




Reaping-Machine, or Harvester. 



270 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

lowing the inauguration of President Pierce ^ a great exhibition of 
the products and industries of all nations was held at New York 
(1853) in a building of glass and iron erected for it, called the 
Crystal Palace." Its chief result was that it helped us as a 

people to compare our own work 
with that of Europe. It proved 
beyond all doubt that Ameri- 
cans have no equals in practical 
inventions and in the excellence 
and variety of their labor-saving 
machinery — their steam-print- 
ing-presses, power-looms, sewing- 
machines, steam-shovels, planing- 
machines, and the like. This was especially the case in the ex- 
hibition of farming-implements. The reapers and mowers for 
cutting grain and grass showed the immense advance we had 
made over the slow work formerly done by hand with sickle and 
scythe. The French Academy of Sciences declared that Cyrus 
McCormick,^ the inventor of the reaper, had " done more for the 
cause of agriculture than any man living." 

1 Franklin Pierce was born in New Hampshire in 1804; died 1869, He was in 
Congress from 1837-1842, and was a brigadier-general in the Mexican War, He 
was elected President (William R. King of Alabama, Vice-President) by the 
Democrats, over General Scott, the Whig candidate. The Whig party had practi- 
cally ceased to exist before the next presidential election, in 1856. The Free-Soilers 
humorously declared that it died " of an attempt to swallow the Fugitive-Slave 
Law" (which the Whig National Convention had accepted in 1852). In 1852 a 
new political party called the American Party, or " Know Nothings," came into 
existence. They had a secret organization, and their object was to exclude all but 
native American citizens from office, to check the power of Catholicism, and to 
oppose the admission of foreigners to citizenship except after very long residence 
here. Their motto was, " Americans must rule America." The " Know Nothings " 
became a national party, exerted considerable influence for a few years, and then 
died out. 

In 1853 the present boundary between the United States and Mexico was 
finally established by our purchase (through General James Gadsden, the United 
States minister to Mexico) of the region including the Mesilla Valley (now Southern 
Arizona and Southern New Mexico ; see Map on page 331) for ^10,000,000. 

2 Cyrus Hall McCormick was born in Virginia, 1809. In 1834 he patented his 



THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT. 2/ 1 

302. Commodore Perry opens the Ports of Japan. — Not 

long after the close of the Crystal Palace Exhibition, Commodore 
Perry sailed into one of the ports of Japan with the first fleet of 
steamers that had ever entered a harbor of that island. For over 
two centuries that country had been almost wholly closed to the 
entire world.^ The Japanese dreaded Europeans, and they had 
been taught that all Americans were barbarians of the most dan- 
gerous sort. Commodore Perry succeeded in convincing them 
that if the Americans were barbarians, they were of an uncommonly 
ingenious and agreeable kind. Through his influence the govern- 
ment of Japan made a treaty with the United States admitting our 
ships to trade ; and we, on the other hand, made the emperor 
presents of a locomotive with a train of cars, and a line of tele- 
graph — the first ever seen in that country, which has since adopted, 
through our influence, both steam and electricity. 

303. The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealing the Missouri 
Compromise. — It will be remembered that the Missouri Com- 
promise of 1820 shut out slavery from the territory west and 
north of Missouri.'^ At the time the Compromise was made it was 
solemnly declared that it should stand " forever." But the end of 
that " forever " was now reached. The South demanded the right 
to carry slavery into the region of Nebraska beyond Missouri. In 
1854, Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois — the *' Little Giant," 

as his friends called him ^ — proposed a law entitled the Kansas 

1 _^^_^_^_ 

machine for reaping grain (operated by horse-power), and later improved it so that 
it not only cut the grain, but bound it in sheaves. William H, Seward, then in the 
United States Senate, said in 1859, " Owing to Mr. McCormick's invention, the line 
of civilization [in the United States] moves westward thirty miles each year." 
And Professor Alexander Johnston says that the results of McCormick's invention 
" have been hardly less than that of the locomotive in their importance to the United 
States. ... It was agricultural machinery that made Western farms profitable, 
and enabled the railroads to fill the West so rapidly." 

1 The Dutch had the privilege of trading with Japan, but under restrictions 
which forbade their landing on the island. 2 gee Paragraph 243. 

3 Senator Douglas was short in stature and stoutly built. His great intellectual 
ability and marked decision of character got for him the name of the " Little Giant." 



2/2 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

and Nebraska Bi]l. That bill cut what was then the territory of 
Nebraska into two parts, of which the southern portion was called 
Kansas ; and it left it to the settlers of these two territories to 
decide whether they would have slave labor or not.^ Congress 
passed the bill, and thus repealed or set aside the Missouri agree- 
ment made in 1820. The North was indignant at the new law. 
Senator Douglas was hooted in the streets. Mass meetings were 
held to denounce him ; and so many images of him were made 
and burned, that Mr. Douglas himself said that he travelled from 
Washington to Chicago by the light of his own blazing effigies. 

304. The Struggle for the Possession of Kansas ; Emi- 
grants from Missouri and from New England. — Now (1854) 
a desperate struggle began between the North and the South for 
the possession of Kansas.^ No sooner had President Pierce signed 
the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, thus making it law,^ than bands of men 
armed with rifles commenced to pour into the territory, resolved 
to win it either by fraud or force. The first movement came 
from the slaveholders of Missouri, who crossed the Missouri River 
and took up lands in the new territory. Soon after, this party 
began a settlement which they named Atchison, in honor of Senator 
Atchison of Missouri. 

Next, the New England Aid Society of Boston sent out a body 
of armed emigrants, who settled about forty miles to the south- 
west of Atchison. They called their little cluster of tents 



He died in 1861, shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War. His dying message 
to his sons was an entreaty that they should stand by the Union and the Constitution. 

1 The " Kansas-Nebraska Act" extended the principles of Clay's Compromise 
of 1850 (see Paragraph 297) (which applied only to territory acquired from 
Mexico) by leaving it to the people of all the territories to make their own 
choice about slavery. 

2 In speaking of this coming struggle, Hon. William H. Seward of New York 
said, in the United States Senate, 1854: "Come on, then, gentlemen of the slave 
states ; since there is no escaping your challenge, I accept it on behalf of Freedom. 
We will engage in competition for the virgin soil of Kansas, and God give the 
victory to the side that is stronger in numbers as it is in right." 

3 See pjkge 239, note 4. 



ATTACK ON LAWRENCE. 2/3 

and log-cabins Lawrence, because Amos A. Lawrence was treasurer 
of the society, which was estabUshed to aid Northern men in the 
double purpose of building homes in Kansas and of making the 
territory a free state. Thus, that part of the territory lying on 
the Missouri River came to be held by men favoring the introduc- 
tion of slavery ; while the territory somewhat further west and 
south was generally in the hands of those opposed to slavery. 

305. The Rival Governments of Kansas ; Civil War in 
the Territory. — These rival sections soon set up governments 
to suit themselves. The Free-state settlers had their headquarters 
at Topeka and Lawrence ; the Slave-state, at Leavenworth and 
Lecompton. 

From 1854 to 1859 that part of the country suffered so much 
from the efforts of both parties to get control that it fairly earned 
the name of "Bleeding Kansas." During the greater part of five 
years the territory was torn by civil war.^ The Free-state men 
denounced the opposite party as "Border Ruffians"; the "Border 
Ruffians " called the Free-state men " Abolitionists " and ".Black 
Republicans." ^ 

306. Attack on Lawrence ; John Brown ; Assault on 
Charles Sumner. — In the course of this period of violence and 
bloodshed the Slave-state men attacked Lawrence, plundered the 
town, and burned some of its chief buildings. This roused the 
spirit of vengeance in the heart of " Old John Brown " of Osa- 
watomie.^ He was a descendant of one of the Pilgrims who came 

1 Civil war (from the Latin word civis, a citizen) : a war between citizens of 
the same state or country. 

2 Early in 1856 those who had opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, and who 
were pledged to resist the extension of slavery into new territory, formed a new 
political party, and adopted the name of " Republicans." This was the origin of 
the present party of that name. Their opponents at the South nicknamed them 
" Black Republicans," because the party was opposed to holding the black man in 
bondage. 

3 John Brown, born in Torrington, Connecticut, 1800, was executed at Charles- 
town, West Virginia, December 2, 1859, for having attempted by armed force to 
liberate slaves in that state. He was a descendant of Peter Brown, who came 



274 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

over in the Mayflower} and he had made a solemn vow to " kill 
American slavery." In return for the attack on Lawrence, Brown 
got together a small band, surprised a little settlement of Slave- 
state men on Pottawatomie Creek, south of Lawrence, dragged 
five of them from their beds, and deliberately murdered them. 
Later, Brown crossed into Missouri, destroyed considerable prop- 
erty, freed eleven slaves, and shot one of the slave-owners. The 
truth appears to be that each party in Kansas was resolved to 
driv^e out the other.- In the end, the Free-state men won the 
victory, and Kansas finally entered the Union without slavery 
(1861). 

During the heated debate in Congress over the Kansas troubles, 
Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts made a speech denounc- 
ing slavery, and alluding to Senator Butler of South Carolina in a 
way that stung the latter's friends to madness. Representative 
Brooks, a kinsman of Butler's, considered the speech an insult ; 
he brutally assaulted Sumner, and beat him so severely over the 
head with a heavy cane that he was obliged to give up his seat in 
Congress for nearly four years. In less than a year from his return 
(1859) South Carolina had seceded from the Union. 

307. Summary. — The chief events of Pierce's administration 
were: (i) The "World's Fair" exhibition; (2) Commodore 
Perry's treaty with Japan, opening that country to trade with the 
United States; (3) the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill 
repealing the Missouri Compromise ; and (4) the struggle of the 
North and the South for the possession of Kansas. 

over in the Mayfiower in 1620. When a boy, he chanced to see a slave boy cruelly 
beaten by his master, and he then and there vowed (so he says) " eternal war with 
slavery." In 1848 he purchased a farm in North Elba, New York, but spent agreat 
deal of his time in aiding runaway slaves to get to Canada. He went out to Osa- 
watomie, Kansas, in 1855, to take part in making that territory a free state, and also, 
as he says, to strike a blow at slavery. Brown's party declared that they perpetrated 
the " Pottawatomie Massacre " in return for the assassination of five Free-state men 
by the opposite party. 1 See Paragraph 73. 

2 During this administration and the preceding some attempts were made by 
armed expeditions of Americans to get possession of Cuba, and also of part of 
Central America, but they ended in complete failure. 



results at the north. 275 

James Buchanan. 

308. Buchanan's Administration (Fifteenth President, 
One Term 1857-1861) ; the Case of Dred Scott. —Two days 
after President Buchanan's ^ inauguration, Chief-Justice Taney of 
the United States Supreme Court gave his decision in a case 
of great importance, known as the " Dred Scott Case." Scott 
was a negro slave and the son of slave parents. His master had 
taken him (1834) from the slave state of Missouri to the free 
state of Illinois, where he staid two years. He then took him to 
what is now Minnesota, a part of the country * in which Congress 
had prohibited slavery,'^ and finally carried him back to Missouri. 

There Scott was sold to a new master ; but the negro demanded 
his liberty, on the ground that since he had lived for a consider- 
able time on free soil he had therefore become a free man. 

309. Chief-Justice Taney's Decision in the Dred Scott 
Case; Results at the North. — The case was carried to the 
United States Supreme Court. Chief- Justice Taney ^ decided : 
(i) that a negro (whether bond or free), who was a descendant 
of slave ancestors, was not an American citizen ; (2) therefore he 
could not sue (even for his liberty) in the United States Courts. 
He furthermore decided that Scott had not gained his freedom 
by going into a free state, or into a Territory where Congress 
had prohibited slavery, since Congress had no power to do this. 

The Court declared that when the Constitution was adopted 
negroes '^ had no rights which the white man was bound to re- 
spect;"* and lastly, that Scott's master could lawfully take his 
slaves into any Territory, just as he could his horses and his cattle. 

1 James Buchanan was born in Pennsylvania, 1791 ; died, 1868. He was elected 
to Congress in 1820; later, to the United States Senate; was minister to Russia; 
Secretary of State under Polk ; and 1853 minister to England. He was elected 
President (John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky, Vice-President) by the Democrats, over 
John C. Fremont, the Republican candidate, and Millard Fillmore, the " American," 
or " Know-Nothing,'' candidate. * Then called the Territory of Upper Louisiana. 

2 The Missouri Compromise (1820), virtually repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska 
Act (1854), prohibited slaveiy in this territory. See pages 225, 271. 

3 Judge McLean and Judge Curtis did not agree with this decision. 

4 This was no personal feeUng of Judge Taney's, for he had freed his own slaves. 



2/6 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

This decision by the highest court in the United States stirred 
the North like an electric shock. The people of that section 
believed that Chief- Justice Taney's decision practically threw 
open to slavery not only the Territories but even the free states.-^ 
The result was that many people determined that the law should 
not be carried out.^ This, of course, angered the South, and 
greatly increased the bad feeling between the two sections.^ 

310. The Business Panic of 1857. — While men were ex- 
citedly discussing the Dred Scott decision, and while the danger 
of disunion was growing more and more threatening, a heavy 
business failure occurred in Cincinnati.* This brought dowTi other 
business houses, just as when a large building falls the smaller 
ones whose walls rest against it often fall with it. The panic of 
1837* was now repeated. Nearly all the banks in the country 
failed,® many railroads could not pay their debts, thousands of 
merchants and manufacturers were ruined, and it seemed at one 
time as though all rich men must become poor, and all poor men 
become beggars. 

The chief causes of this trouble were to be found in the results 
of the discovery of gold in California.' The increased wealth 

1 That is, that the free states could not prevent a slaveholder from bringing his 
slaves with him (as Scott's master had done), and staying at least two years with 
them on free soiL 

2 The Northern people believed that under the Constitution slaves could only 
be held in those states which protected slavery by their laws, and that if a master 
took his negroes into a state whose laws forbade slavery, he could not hold them 
in bondage there. 

3 Meanwhile (1845-1846), two of the great religious denominations of the coun- 
try — the Baptists and the Methodists — had split; and each was now organized as 
a Northern and a Southern Church ; the first opposing slavery, and the second 
upholding it. Later (1861), the Presb}'terian denomination became similarly 
divided; but not the Episcopal or the Roman Catholic. 

4 The Ohio Life and Trust Company failed, through the fault of its New York 
agent, in August, 1857. « See Paragraph 274. 

« The Chemical Bank of New York City, which had gone safely through the 
great panic of 1837, continued to pay all demands in gold. The State Bank of 
Indiana and the Kentucky banks also met all demands against them in a satisfac- 
tory manner. See Ex-Secretarj- of the Treasury McCulloch's " Men and Measures of 
Half a Century," page 133. ^ See Paragraph 294. 



DISCOVERY OF SILVER IN NEVADA. 2// 

had stimulated men to overdo all kinds of business ; more lines 
of railroad had been built in the West than the population de- 
manded ; many manufacturers had made greater quantities of 
goods than they could sell ; and many merchants had bought 
more than they could pay for. The country was like a man who 
had worked beyond his strength — it had to stop and take a rest. 

311. Discovery of Silver in Nevada and Colorado, and 
of Petroleum and Natural Gas in Pennsylvania. — But in 

1858, the very next year after the panic, some of the richest 
silver mines ever discovered on the globe were found in the moun- 
tain region of Western Nevada.^ The two chief of these, known 
as the *' Bonanza " ^ mines, sent out many millions of dollars' worth 
of ore cast in the form of bricks. When, in the course of time, 
these famous " silyer bricks " decreased in number for want of 
ore to make them, new mines that had been found (1877) in 
Leadville and other parts of Colorado and also in Utah, sent out 
a new supply of the precious metal. 

In 1859 Colonel Drake sunk the first successful oil-well on Oil 
Creek, near Titusville, in Northwestern Pennsylvania. Since then, 
petroleum ^ has flowed in streams from the wells that have been 
opened in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Southern New York. The 
average yield of these wells is now about fifty thousand barrels of 
oil a day. Lines of iron pipes, laid underground, carry the oil over 
hills, across rivers, through forests and farms, to Chicago, Buffalo, 
Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, and other points on the Great 
Lakes and the seacoast. Petroleum is used not only for giving 
light, but it is more and more employed to oil machinery and for 
heating purposes. 

1 The mines were discovered in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in what is called 
the Comstock lode (a lode is a vein or deposit of mineral). 

2 " Bonanza" : a Spanish word meaning prosperity. In the West it is applied 
(in mining) to a very rich mass of gold or silver ore. The total yield of the mines 
of the Comstock lode has been over two hundred and fifty million dollars. The 
amount at present obtained from them is very small. 

8 Petroleum : commonly known, in one of its refined forms, as kerosene oil. 



2/8 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



About fifteen years after the discovery of petroleum in Penn- 
sylvania, natural gas was found issuing from the rocks in the same 
region. This gas has now taken the place of oil and coal in 
Pittsburgh and vicinity for lighting streets and houses, for cooking, 
and for fuel in manufacturing. As Nature makes it in her labora- 
tories underground, the gas costs practically nothing more than 
the expense of the tubes which conduct it from the earth. On this 
account it is sometimes seen burning in the streets all day as well 
as all night, for there are cases where it may be cheaper to let it 
burn than to hire men to go round and shut it off. It is proposed 
to lay pipes conveying the gas to Philadelphia, New York, and 
other cities, in order to supply them with light at a lower rate 
than that at which they can now get it. 

312. John Brown's Raid. — In the autumn of 1859 the 
whole country was startled on hearing that "John Brown of 

Osawatomie " ^ had 
made a raid^ into 
Virginia, seized the 
government build- 
ings at Harper's 
Ferry, and attempt- 
ed to liberate the 
slaves in that vicin- 
ity. John Brown's 
whole band con- 
sisted of only about 
twenty men, partly 
whites and partly 
negroes. After hard 
fighting, he was cap- 
tured, with six of his companions, and hanged at Charlestown, 
Virginia (December 2, 1859). On the day of his execution, he 
handed this paper to one of his guards : ''I, John Brown, am 




Harper's Ferry. 



1 See Paragraph 306. 2 Raid : a sudden invasion by a body of armed men. 



THE ELECTION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 2/9 

now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never 
be purged away but with blood. I had, as I now think, vainly 
flattered myself that without very much bloodshed it might be 
done." 1 

Within a year and a half from the day of his death, the North 
and the South were at war with each other, and a Northern regi- 
ment on its way to the contest was singing, — 

" John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave. 
But his soul is marching on." 

313. The Election of Abraham Lincoln; Secession of 
South Carolina. — In November, 1 860, Abraham Lincoln ^ of 

1 Governor Wise of Virginia said of John Brown : " He inspired me with great 
trust in his integrity as a man of truth," The governor also said : " They are mis- 
taken who take Brown for a madman. He is a bundle of the best nerves I ever 
saw . . . cool, collected, indomitable." In his last speech at his trial, John Brown 
declared that his only object had been to liberate the slaves, and that he did not 
intend to commit murder or treason or to destroy property. " I feel," said he, " no 
consciousness of guilt." 

It is worthy of note that when the Republican party, which was opposed to the 
extension of slavery, nominated Abraham Lincoln for the presidency in i860, it 
expressly denounced John Brown's attempt as " lawless and unjustifiable." 

2 Abraham Lincoln was born in Hardin County, Kentucky, in 1809. His early 
life was spent in toil, hardship, and poverty ; but it was the independent poverty of 
the Western wilderness, and it made men of those who fought their way out of it. 

When the boy was only eight years old he had learned to swing an axe. From 
that time until he came of age he literally chopped and hewed his way forward 
and upward. He learned to read from two books — the spelling-book and the 
Bible; then he borrowed " Pilgrim's Progress " and ^sop's Fables, and would sit 
up half the night reading them " by the blaze of the logs his own axe had split." 

In 1816 the Lincoln family moved to Spencer County, Indiana; and in 1830, 
to Decatur, Illinois. On this last occasion, young Lincoln walked the entire dis- 
tance, nearly two hundred miles, through mud and water, driving a four-ox team. 
The journey took fifteen days ; for even two yoke of oxen do not move quite as 
fast as steam. When they reached their destination, in what was then an almost 
unsettled country, the father and son set to work to build the log-cabin which was 
to be their home ; and when that was finished, the young man split the rails to 
fence in their farm of ten acres. 

Such work was play to him. He was now twenty-one ; he stood six feet three 
and a half inches, barefooted ; he was in perfect health ; could out-run, out-jump, 
out-wrestle, and, if necessary, out-fight, any one of his age in the county, and " his 



28o 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



Illinois was elected President of the United States, then a nation 

of over thirty millions, by the Republican party. That party, 

though it denounced John 
Brown,^ had pledged itself 
to shut out slavery from the 
territories. The people of 
South Carolina believed that 
the election of Mr. Lincoln 
meant that the great majority 
of the North was determined 
to bring about the liberation 
of the negroes. That was a 
great mistake ; but the Caro- 
linians could not then be 
convinced to the contrary. 
They furthermore saw that 
they could no longer hope 
to maintain the power they 
once possessed in Congress, 
for the free states now had 

six more senators and fifty-seven more representatives than the 

slave states had.^ 

grip was like the grip of Hercules." Without this rugged strength he could never 
have endured the strain that the nation later put upon him. 

In 1834 he resolved to begin the study of law. A friend in Springfield offered 
to lend him some books ; Lincoln walked there, twenty-two miles from New Salem 
(where he then lived), and, it is said, brought back with him four heavy volumes 
of Blackstone, at the end of the same day. 

A few years later he opened a law-office in Springfield. In 1846 " Honest Abe," 
as his neighbors and friends called him, was elected to Congress ; and in i860, to 
the presidency of the United States, by the Republican party (Hannibal Hamlin of 
Maine, Vice-President). The Democratic party had split into a Northern and a 
Southern party. The former had nominated Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois ; and 
the latter, John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky. The former American (or " Know- 
Nothing ") party, which now called itself the " Constitutional Union Party," had 
nominated John Bell of Tennessee. Lincoln received nearly half a million more 
votes than Douglas, and more than a million in excess of those cast for either of 
the other candidates. 1 See page 279, note i. 

2 In 1790, just after the foundation of the government, the free states had 14 




Boyhood of Lincoln. 
(Bj permiBsion of Prang k Co., Art Publishers.) 



Vs 



FORMATION OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES. 28 1 

On December 20, i860, a convention met in " Secession Hall," 
in Charleston, and unanimously voted " that the union now sub- 
sisting between South Carolina and other states, under the name 
of the United States of America, is hereby dissolved." Those 
who thus voted said that it was no hasty resolution on their part, 
but that it had been under consideration for many years. The 
declaration of secession was welcomed in the streets with the 
firing of cannon and the ringing of bells. The citizens believed 
that the Union was broken up, and that South Carolina had now, 
as its governor said, become a " free and independent State." 

314. Secession of Six Other Southern States ; Formation 
of the ** Confederate States of America.** — By the first- of 
February (1861) the states of Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, Ala- 
bama, Louisiana, and Texas — making seven in all — had likewise 
withdrawn from the Union. As one seceding senator expressed it, 
they had left the national government " a corpse lying in state in 
Washington." On February 4 (1861), delegates from these states 
(except those from Texas, who arrived later) met at Montgomery, 
Alabama, and, having framed a government and taken the name 
of the *' Confederate States of America," with Montgomery as the 
capital, they elected Jefferson Davis ^ of Mississippi, President, and 

senators and 35 representatives in Congress ; the slave states, 12 senators and 30 
representatives. From 1796 to 1812, inclusive, the free states and the slave states 
had an equal number in the Senate, but the free states had a majority in the 
House. After 1848 the free states had a majority in both Senate and House, and in 
the latter it was constantly and largely increasing. That fact meant that the South 
had lost its political power simply because the North had outgrown it in population. 
1 Jefferson Davis was born in Kentucky in 1808 ; died, 1889. He graduated at 
West Point Military Academy in 1828. In 1845 he was elected to Congress by the 
Democrats in Mississippi, of which state he had become a resident. He served 
with distinction in the Mexican War (see Paragraph 290). In 1847 he entered the 
United States Senate, where, like Calholin, he advocated state rights and the 
extension of slavery. President Pierce made him Secretary of War. He was 
United States Senator under Buchanan. His state (Mississippi) seceded on January 
9, 1861. Mr. Davis kept his seat in the Senate until January 21, and then, with a 
speech asserting the right of secession, he withdrew to join the Southern Con- 
federacy. 



282 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Alexander H. Stephens^ of Georgia, Vice-President of the Confed- 
eracy. The Stars and Stripes were now cast aside, and the " Stars 
and Bars " ^ took their place. 

315. Why the South seceded ; Seizure of National Prop- 
erty; the Star of the West fired on. — What took these 
seven states — soon to be followed by four more — out of the 
Union? The answer is, it was first their conviction that slavery 
would thrive better by being separated from the influence of the 
North ; and, secondly, it was their belief in " State Rights," ^ 
upheld by South Carolina as far back as Jackson's presidency. 
According to that idea, any state was justified in separating itself 
from the United States whenever it became convinced that it was 
for its interest to withdraw. 

In this act of secession many of the people of the South took 
no direct part, — a large number being, in fact, utterly opposed 
to it, — but the political leaders were fully determined on separa- 
tion. Their aim was to estabhsh a great slave-holding republic, 
or nationaUty, of which they should be head.'* 

1 Alexander H. Stephens was bom in Georgia in 1812; died, 1883. He was in 
Congress as a representative of the Whigs from 1843 ^o i8S9' ^^ afterwards joined 
the Democrats. He at first opposed secession, and said that it was " the height of 
madness, folly, and wickedness " ; but when Georgia seceded, he decided that it 
was his duty to stand by his state. After the Civil War he again entered Congress, 
and in 1882 he was elected governor of Georgia. He was a man who had the 
entire respect of those who knew him. 

2 The " Stars and Bars," as the Confederate flag was popularly called, to dis- 
tinguish it from the " Stars and Stripes," consisted of a blue union (the upper, 
inner corner of a flag is called the union), containing at first seven, and later 
eleven, white stars, — representing the number of the Confederate states, — arranged 
in a circle. The body of the flag was made up of three very broad horizontal 
stripes, or " bars," the middle one white, the two others red. See page 286. 

3 See Paragraph 269. 

4 Alexander Stephens, Vice-President of the Confederacy, said, in a speech at 
Savannah, March 21, 1861, " The prevailing idea entertained by him [Jefferson] 
and most of the leading statesmen at the time of the formation of the old Consti- 
tution [the Constitution of the United States] was that the enslavement of the 
African was in violation of the laws of nature ; that it was wrong in principle — 
socially, morally, and politically. . . . Our new government [the Southern Con- 
federacy] is founded upon exactly the opposite idea ; its foundations are laid, its 



SUMMARY FROM WASHINGTON TO BUCHANAN. 283 

President Buchanan made no attempt to prevent the states 
from seceding ; part of his cabinet were Southern men, who were 
in full sympathy with the Southern leaders, and the President did 
not see how to act. 

The seceded states seized the forts, arsenals, and other national 
property 'within their Hmits, so far as they could do so. Fort 
Sumter, commanded by Major Anderson of the United States 
army, in Charleston Harbor, was one of the few where the " Stars 
and Stripes " remained flying. President Buchanan had made an 
effort to send men and supplies to Major Anderson by the mer- 
chant steamer Star of the West (January 9, 1861) ; but the peo- 
ple of Charleston fired upon the steamer, and compelled her to 
go back. 

All eyes were now turned toward Abraham Lincoln. The great 
question was. What will he do when he becomes President? 

316. General Summary from Washington to Buchanan 
(1789-1861). — 'Looking back to the presidency of Washington, 
we see that over seventy years had elapsed since the formation 
of the Union. We then had a population of less than four 
millions; in 1861 — at the outbreak of secession — we had eight 
times that number, and much more than eight times the wealth 
possessed by us in 1789. Thus, from a small and poor nation, 
we had grown to be great and prosperous. 

In 1 789 our western boundary was the Mississippi, and there 
seemed no prospect that we should extend beyond it. In 1861 
it was the Pacific. Our original eight hundred thousand square 
miles had increased to over three millions ; and the original thir» 
teen states had added to themselves twenty-one more, besides 
immense territories. 

In 1 789 New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charleston, 
and New Orleans — six in all — were our only cities, and they 

comer-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white 
man; that slavery — subordination to the superior race — is his natural and normal 
condition." — McPherson's Political History of the Rebellion, page 103. 



284 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

were so small that they were hardly worthy of the name. By 1861 
most of these places (especially those at the North) had grown 
enormously in population and wealth, and we had added to them 
many flourishing cities like Brooklyn, Detroit, Milwaukee, Chicago, 
St. Paul, Minneapolis,^ St. Louis, Cincinnati, and San Francisco, — 
all, but the last, bound to each other by railroads, and all con- 
nected by lines of telegraph. 

But between 1789 and 1861 there was this sad difference: 
Washington had found and left us a united people ; Buchanan, 
a divided people. Seven of our states had left us ; four more 
would go. For many years we had been brothers ; now we were 
fast becoming enemies. Only let the word be spoken, and our 
swords would leap from their scabbards, and we would fly at each 
other's throats. What had brought about this deplorable change ? 
Time. Time had strengthened Slavery at the South and Freedom 
at the North. It was no longer possible for both to dwell together 
in peace under the same flag. Either the Union must be dissolved, 
or those who loved the Union must fight to save it ; and, before 
the war should end, must fight to make it wholly free. If that could 
be done, then lasting peace would be restored ; for then the North 
and the South — no longer separated by slavery — would again 
become one great, prosperous, and united people. 

1 The eastern part of what is now Minneapolis was incorporated as a city, under 
the name of St, Anthony, in i860. The west side, named Minneapolis, was incor- 
porated as a city in 1867 ; in 1872 the two were united under that name. 



Lincoln's administkaxion. 285 



VI. 

" Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brouglit forth upon this conti- 
nent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that 
all men are created equal. . . . "We here highly resolve . . . that this nation, 
under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the 
people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth." — 
President Lincoln's Address at Gettysburg, November ig, iS6j. 



-»<>•- 



THE CIVIL WAR (April, i86i, to April, 1865). 

Abrahaim Lincoln. 

317. Lincoln^s Administration (Sixteenth President, Two 
Terms, ^ 1861-April 14, 1865) » the President's Arrival 
at Washington; his Speech; his Intentions toward the 
Seceded States. — President Lincoln's friends believed that it 
would not be safe for him to make the last part of his journey to 
Washington publicly ; and he therefore reached the national capi- 
tal secretly by a special night train. 

At his inauguration (March 4, 186 1) he said : " I have no purpose, 
directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in 

1 Abraham Lincoln (see Paragraph 313, note 2) was elected President by the 
Republican party (Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, Vice-President), in 1S60, over Douglas 
and Breckenridge, the two candidates of the Northern and the Southern Demo- 
crats, and Bell, the candidate of the " Constitutional Union " party. He was again 
elected by the Republicans, in 1864 (Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, Vice-President), 
over General George B. McCIellan, the Democratic candidate. President Lincoln 
was assassinated April 14, 1865, one month and ten days after entering upon his 
second administration. Vice-President Johnson then became President for the 
remainder of the term. President Lincoln, on first entering office, chose William 
H. Seward, Secretary of State; Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury; 
Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy; and Simon Cameron, Secretary of War; 
succeeded January 15, 1862, by Edwin M. Stanton. During the Civil War they 
rendered services of inestimable value to the President and to the nation. 



286 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



the States where it exists. I believe I hare no lawful right to do 
so ; and I have no inclination to do so." But the President also 
declared in the same speech that he held the Union to be per- 
petual, and that he should do his utmost to keep the oath he had 
just taken "to preserve, protect, and defend it."^ He further- 
more declared that the government had no intention of beginning 
war against the seceded states, but would only use its power to 
re-take the forts and other national property which had been 
seized by the Confederacy. 

At this time the general feeling throughout the Northern States 
was a strong desire for peace, and a willingness to assure the 
Southern States that their Constitutional right - to hold slaves 
should not be interfered with. 



First Year of the War, April, i86i, to April, 1S62. 

318. Major Anderson»s Condition at Fort Sumter; the 
First Gun of the War; Surrender of the Fort. — Major Ander- 
son now sent a 
message to the 
President, stating 
that he could not 
long continue to 
hold Fort Sumter 
unless provisions 
were sent to him. 
His entire garri- 
son, aside from 
some laborers, con- 
sisted of eighty- 
five, officers and 
men ; the Con- 
federate force in 




STAR OP THE WtST 
BATTEKV 



Map of Charleston Harbor. 



1 See the President's oath of office on page 192, note 3. 

2 See the Constitution, page xiv., section 2, " No person held to service," etc. 



SURRENDER OF FORT SUMTER. 



287 



Charleston was about seven thousand. The government immedi- 
ately made arrangements to send the needed supplies. As soon as 
Jefferson Davis heard of it. General Beauregard/ in command of 




Fort Sumter. 

the Confederate army at Charleston, was ordered to demand the 
surrender of the fort. Major Anderson declined to surrender, 
and at daybreak, April 12, 1861, the Con- 
federates fired the first gun at the fort. It 
was answered by one from Sumter. War had 
begun. For thirty-four hours nineteen bat- 
teries ^ rained shot and shell against the fort, 
which continued to fire back. Notwithstand- 
ing this tremendous cannonade, no one was 
killed on either side. But Major Anderson, 
finding that his ammunition was nearly ex- 




ConfederatB Flag. 
(The Stars and Bars.) 



1 Beauregard (Boh'reh-gard). 

2 Batteries : a battery is a wall of earth or other fortification having a number of 
cannon mounted on it. A battery may also consist of cannon mounted on wheels 
and drawn by horses. 



288 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 




The Flag Major Anderson carrfed with him from 
Fort Sumter. 



hausted, and having nothing but pork left to eat, decided to give up 
the fort. On Sunday (April 14), he, with his garrison, left the fort, 

and embarked for New 
a^sj York ; he carried with 
him the shot-torn flag 
under which he and his 
men had fought.^ 

319. President 
Lincoln*s Call for 
Volunteers ; the Ris- 
ing of the North. — 

The next day (April 15, 
1 861) President Lin- 
coln called for seventy- 
five thousand volunteers for three months' service — for few then 
supposed that the war, if there was really to be a war, would 
last longer than that. In response to the President's call the 
whole North seemed to rise. Men of all parties forgot their 
political quarrels, and hastened to the defence of the capital. 
Within thirty-six hours several companies from Pennsylvania 
had reached Washington. They were speedily followed by 
the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment — the first full regiment to 
march. They had to fight their way through a mob at Baltimore. 
There, on April 19, 1861, the day on which the Revolutionary 
battles of Lexington and Concord were fought, the first Union sol- 
diers gave their lives for the preservation of the nation.^ 

Many of the volunteers were lads under twenty, and some of 
them had never left home before. There were affecting and also 
amusing scenes when the "boys in blue"^ started for Washington. 

1 Just four years, to a day, from that date, Major Anderson (then General Ander- 
son) hoisted the same flag over the ruins of Fort Sumter. 

2 On April 18, i86i,the Confederates seized the United States arsenal at Harper's 
Ferry, and on the 20th the Navy Yard at Norfolk. In both cases, however, the 
officer in command succeeded in burning a large part of the property before it fell 
into the hands of the Confederates. 

8 The Union soldiers wore blue uniform ; the Confederates, gray. 



SECESSION OF FOUR MORE STATES. 289 

Anxious mothers took tearful leave of sons, whom they feared 
they should never see again. One good New England woman, as 
she bade her boy good-by at the railroad station, thrust the well- 
worn family umbrella into his hand as her parting gift. Her ideas 
of war were not quite as clear as General Scott's ; but she was 
sure of one thing : if her " John " must go to battle, she wanted to 
feel that he could fight comfortably under shelter in wet weather. 
On the Southern side there were the same anxious leave-takings ; 
for. it should be borne in mind that while the people of the North 
were eager to offer their lives for the defence of the Union, the 
people of the South were just as eager to give theirs to repel what 
they considered invasion. 

320. Secession of Four more States; General Butler*s 
** Contrabands.'* — President Lincoln's call for troops made it 
necessary for the remaining slave states to decide at once whether 
they would remain in the Union or go out. Virginia^ joined the 
Confederacy ; but the western part of the state had voted against 
secession, and later it became a separate state under the name of 
West Virginia. The Confederate capital was soon removed to 
Richmond. Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina followed 
the example of Virginia ; but Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and 
Missouri did not secede. By the middle of June the Confederacy 
consisted of eleven states ; no more were added. 

General Butler of Massachusetts held command of Fortress 
Monroe in Eastern Virginia. It was the only Union stronghold 
in the state, and was of the very highest importance. A number 
of slaves came to the General and begged him to set them free. 
He had no authority to give them their liberty. On the other 
hand, he was certain that if he returned them to their masters they 
would use them in carrying on the war against the Union. Finally, 



1 The secession of Eastern Virginia immensely increased the miHtary difficuhies 
with which the North had to contend. Had Virginia remained in the Union (as 
she seemed at one time likely to do), the war would probably have been of short 
duration. 



290 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

General Butler got out of the difficulty by saying, These negroes 
are contraband of war ;^ then putting spades in the hands of 
the " contrabands," as they were henceforth called, he set them 
to work to strengthen the fort. General Butler's action was the 
first decided blow struck at the existence of slavery after the com- 
mencement of the war. 

321. Condition of the North and of the South with 
Respect to the War. — In regard to the terrible struggle now 
about to begin between the North and the South, each of the com- 
batants had certain advantages over the other. First, the North 
had more than twice as many men to draw on as the South.^ Next, 
although unprepared for war, the North had iron-mills, ship-yards, 
foundries, machine-shops, and factories of all kinds. For this rea- 
son it could make everything its soldiers would need, from a blanket 
to a battery. Finally it had the command of the sea and so with 
its war-vessels* it could shut up the Southern ports and cut them 
off from help from abroad. The South had the advantage (i) of 
being prepared for the war by having got possession of large 
quantities of arms and ammunition (though it had small means of 
making any more) ; (2) with the exception of General Scott and a 
few others who stood by the Union, it had a majority of the best- 
known officers in the regular army, — such men as Robert E. Lee 
of Virginia^ and General Beauregard; (3) it could send all of its 

1 Contraband of war : here meaning, forfeited by the customs or laws of war. 
General Butler's idea was that the laws of war forbade his returning anything or 
any property to the Confederates, or to those who sympathized with them, which 
they could use in carrying on the contest. * But nearly all these had to be built. 

2 The total population of the United States in i860 was in round numbers, 
32,000,000. The Union states had about 23,000,000 ; the eleven seceded states 
about 9,000,000, of which nearly 3,500,000 were slaves. 

3 General Lee was born in Virginia, 1807 ; died 1870. He was a graduate of 
West Point, and served with distinction in the Mexican War (see Paragraph 291). 
When Virginia seceded, Lee, who was then a lieutenant-colonel in the United States 
army, said, " I recognize no necessity for this state of things," yet he felt it his duty 
to go with his state. He said, " With all my devotion to the Union ... I have not 
been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, 
my home." He was made commander-in-chief of the Virginia state forces. In 1862, 



NUMBER AND POSITION OF THE TWO ARMIES. 29! 

fighting men to the front while it kept several milHons of slaves 
at work raising food to support them ; (4) the South had the 
great advantage of being able to fight on the defensive, on its own 
soil, and so needed fewer soldiers. 

322. The Number and Position of the Two Armies. — 

President Lincoln's first call for troops was quickly followed by 
others, and the South likewise strengthened its side. By the sum- 
mer of 1 86 1 the Union forces probably numbered about 180,000, 
and those of the Confederates, 150,000. The former were under 
the direction of the veteran General Scott,^ and the latter under 
General Beauregard.^ The Union army was mainly in Eastern 
Virginia and Maryland. It extended along the banks of the 
Potomac from Harper's Ferry to the mouth of the river, and 
thence southward to Fortress Monroe. The Confederate army 
held the country south of it, with Richmond as its fortified centre. 
In Missouri and West Virginia there was a contest which 
ended in the national troops, under Generals Lyon, Fr^mont,^ and 



he received — subject to the orders of Jefferson Davis — the entire command of 
" the armies of the Confederacy." His management of the war showed that he was 
a man of great military abiHty, and of entire devotion to what he understood to be 
his duty. 

1 See Paragraph 291. 

2 General Joseph E. Johnston ranked above General Beauregard, and after the 
battle of Bull Run (July 21, 1861), in which he took a leading part, he held com- 
mand of the Confederate army of Virginia until he was wounded at the battle of 
Seven Pines, May 31, 1862, when General Lee took the command. 

3 General Fremont was born at Savannah in 18 13. Under the authority of the 
government he began the exploration of the Rocky Mountains and of an overland 
route to the Pacific in 1842-1844. In 1845 he set out on another exploring expedi- 
tion to the Pacific coast. After the outbreak of the Mexican War he, with the assist- 
ance of Ariierican settlers in California, freed that territory from the authority of 
Mexico, and in the summer of 1846 he was appointed governor of the territory. By 
treaty with Mexico in 1847 Fremont secured California to the United States. In 
1856 he was nominated to the Presidency (as the anti-slavery candidate) by the 
Republican party. From 1878 to 1881 he was governor of Arizona. In the summer 
of i86i Fremont issued a proclamation emancipating the slaves of all persons in 
Missouri who were in arms against the Union j but President Lincoln refused to 
approve it. 



292 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



iC 



Halleck, getting control of the firsts, while General McClellan 
drove out the Confederates from the second. In the southwest 
the Confederates had got possession of the Mississippi from New 
Orleans to Columbus, Kentucky, by building forts on the river 
banks. They were making preparations to do the same on the 
Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, and their intention was, if pos- 
sible, to get the entire control of Kentucky besides. 

323. The Battle of Bull Run. — The cry at the South was, 
On to Washington I ** It was answered by the cry of the North, 

«0n to Rich- 
mond ! " Beaure- 
gard had taken 
up his position at 
Manassas Junction 
on Bull Run.i 
There he could 
both protect the 
Confederate capi- 
tal and threaten 
Washington. He 
had an army of 
about 30,000. 
GeneralMcDowell 
in command, in 
the field, of the 
Union forces, had 
about the same 
number. One 
army, as President 
Lincoln said, was 
as "green" as the 
other. McDowell 
advanced, not because he was ready, or because General Scott 




SCALE OF MILES 



35 



50 



75 



100 



1 Run : a small stream or creek. 



BATTLE OF BULL RUN. 293 

advised it, but for the simple reason that the North was tired 
of waiting and was impatient to strike a decisive blow. 

The battle began on a sweltering hot Sunday in July (July 21, 
1 861). At first the Union troops drove the Confederates from 
their position. General Bee, one of the Southern leaders, rushing 
up to General Jackson cried out, " General, they are beating us 
back." " We will give them the bayonet," said Jackson quietly. 
That reply encouraged General Bee. Rallying his men, he shouted, 
" Look ! there is Jackson standing like a stone wall ! " It was 
true ; and " Stonewall " Jackson,^ as the Confederate general was 
ever after called, used "the bayonet" so effectually that the Union 
advance was checked, and the Southerners held their ground until 
heavy reinforcements came from the Shenandoah Valley and 
drove the national troops from the hard-fought field. They fled 
back to Washington in confusion and terror. It was the first panic 
of the war. 

324. Results of the Defeat at Bull Run. — Some failures 
are simply stepping stones to final success. The defeat at Bull 
Run was such a case. Instead of discouraging the people of 
the North, it roused them to new and greater effort. At the very 
time the defeated and disheartened Union soldiers v/ere pouring 
over the Long Bridge across the Potomac into Washington, Con- 
gress voted to raise 500,000 men and $500,000,000 to carry on 
the war. The cry now was, " Drill and organize ! " General 
McClellan came fresh from his victories in West Virginia to take 
command of the army. He taught them the great lesson, that 
enthusiasm without military organization is of no more use than 
steam without an engine. For the next six months and more 

1 General Thomas J. Jackson, of Virginia, was born in 1824; died 1863. He 
was one of the most remarkable men who fought on the side of the South. His 
character may be fitly summed up in his motto, — " Do your duty, and leave the 
rest to Providence." His death was the heaviest personal loss the South sustained 
during the war. Lee called "Stonewall" Jackson his "right arm"; in his depart- 
ment he ranked as one of the ablest generals in the Confederacy, and was respected 
alike by those who fought under him and those who fought against him. 



294 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

there was no general movement, but, as the newspapers said, " all 
was quiet on the Potomac" ;^ that quiet, however, meant that both 
sides were now getting ready to fight in terrible earnest. 

325. Union Plan of the War. — Gradually a plan for the war 
in defence of the Union took shape ; it was this : i. To maintain 
a strict blockade - of all Southern ports, and thus cut off the South 
from getting supplies from abroad for carrying on the war. 2. To 
attack and take Richmond. 3. To open the lower Mississippi, 
with the Tennessee and the Cumberland, which the Confederate 
forts had closed to navigation. 4. To break through the Confed- 
erate line in the West, march an army through to the Atlantic, 
and thence northward to Virginia. 

326. The Confederate War-Vessels ; Seizure of Mason 
and Slidell. — While the Union forces were completing the 
blockade, and getting possession of important points like Fort 
Hatteras and Port Royal on the Southern coast, Jefferson Davis 
was not idle. He succeeded in buying or building a num- 
ber of war-vessels in Great Britain which in time destroyed so 
many merchant ships owned in the North that unarmed vessels no 
longer dared to carry the stars and stripes. Later, the Alabama^ 
built in England, was added to the Confederate fleet and inflicted 
immense damage on Union commerce, for which at the end of 
the war England had to pay roundly. 

Early in November (1861) the Confederacy undertook to send 
two commissioners or agents — Mason and SHdell — to Europe 
to get aid for the Southern cause and also to endeavor to per- 
suade England and France to acknowledge the independence 
of the Confederate states. 

1 On October 21, 1861, a body of Union troops two thousand strong was beaten 
by a large force of Confederates at Ball's Bluff on the Potomac, and on August 10 
of the same year General Lyon was defeated and killed at the battle of Wilson's 
Creek, Missouri. 

2 This blockade was maintained by stationing vessels of war in front of every 
Southern port, thus effectually closing them (in most cases) to all commerce with 
Europe. 



THE CONFEDERATE WAR-VESSELS. 



295 



Captain Wilkes of the United States navy stopped the British 
mail steamer Trent, on which Mason and Shdell had embarked for 
England, and took them both prisoners. England at once de- 
manded that the national government should give them up. The 
North protested, but President Lincoln said, "We fought Great 
Britain in 181 2 for doing just what Captain Wilkes has done. We 
must give up the prisoners to England." It was accordingly done, 
but Mason and Slidell, though they went to Europe, failed to accom- 
pHsh anything of importance for the Confederacy. 

327. The Merrimac destroys the Cumberland and the 
Congress; the Monitor, — When the Confederates seized the 
Norfolk navy yard,^ they got possession of the United States ship 
of war Merrimac. 
Having covered 
the vessel with a 
very heavy double 
plating of iron, they 
sent her out under 
command of Cap- 
tain Buchanan to 
destroy the Union 
war-vessels at the 
mouth of the James River off Fortress Monroe. The Union ships 
were of wood ; they could not resist an antagonist that was a float- 
ing fort rather than an ordinary war-vessel. The balls from their 
guns made no more impression on the iron shell of the monster 
which now attacked them, than a sparro\y's bill would make on the 
back of an alligator. The Merrimac sunk the Cwnberlaiid, which 
carried down with her many sick and wounded men ;^ she then de- 
stroyed the Congress. The next day (Sunday, March 9, 1862) the 
Merrimac returned to complete the destruction of the fleet ; sud- 
denly a strange little craft appeared, looking like a " cheese-box on a 




The Monitor and the Merrimac. 



1 See note 2, page 288. The Confederates named the Merrimac the Virginia. 

2 See Longfellow's poem on the loss of the Cumderland. 



296 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

raft." This was the Monitor^ a new Union vessel made of iron. 
She was commanded by Lieutenant Worden. The Merrimac now 
found that she had got her match. After a terrific battle the Con- 
federate vessel in a leaking condition * steamed back to the navy 
yard at Norfolk. The ''little giant" had practically won the day. 
It was perhaps " the most important single event of the war." 
If the Merri?nac had gained the victory, she might next have gone 
up the Potomac and destroyed the national capital. In that case 
European nations might have acknowledged the independence of 
the South, and demanded that the blockade be raised and the ports 
of the Confederacy thrown open to the commerce of the world. 
The United States now built more monitors, and by the end of the 
year had a fleet of several hundred effective war-vessels of differ- 
ent kinds, both on the ocean and on the western rivers. 

"^328. The War in the West ; Capture of Fort Henry and 
Fort Donelson. — At the West the line of the Confederate army, 
under General A. S. Johnston, stretched from Mill Spring, and 
Bowling Green, in Kentucky, through Fort Donelson on the 
Cumberland, and Fort Henry on the Tennessee, to Columbus 
on the Mississippi. General Halleck,^ in command of the greater 
part of the Union forces of the West, resolved to break that line, 
to enter the cotton states, and also to open the Mississippi. In 
January, 1862, General Thomas attacked Mill Spring, and drove 



1 The Alonitor was built by Captain Ericsson, the inventor of the screw-propeller 
for steamships, and of the hot-air engine. She was an iron vessel of small size, 
sitting so low in the water that scarcely anything of her hull was visible. In the 
centre of her deck stood a revolving iron turret, which carried two cannon, sending 
solid shot weighing one hundred and sixty-six pounds. The invention of the Monitor 
revolutionized the construction of war-vessels throughout the world. Few wooden 
ships of war have since been built. * Col. Wood, of the Merrimac (or Virginia)^ 
speaks of slight damages, but no leak ; he thinks " the battle was a drawn one," but says 
" the advantage was with the Monitor P See Century Company's War Book, I. 703. 

2 General Halleck was born near Utica, N. Y., in 1815 ; died 1872. He graduated 
at West Point and served in the Mexican War. He was appointed a major-general 
of the United States army in August, 1861. He received command of the depart- 
ment of Missouri (with other states) in November, and of the department of the 
Mississippi in March. 1862. From July, ii, 1862, to March, 1864, he was general- 
in-chief of the armies of the United States, and had his headquarters at Washington, 



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THE WAR IN THE WEST. 



297 



most of the Confederates out of the State of Kentucky. Then 
General Halleck ordered General U. S. Grant/ to start from 
Cairo, Illinois, and attack Fort Henry ; but Commodore Foote got 
there first with his gunboats and took it (February 6, 1862). 
Grant then moved on Fort Donelson. The battle raged for three 
days in succession ; then the Confederate General Buckner asked 
Grant what terms he would grant him if he gave up the fort. 



\Cincinnati 



Maysville 








^ Bowling Green '^y^ — (LV^^^'""-'i 
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50 



SCALE OF MILES 



100 



200 



300 



Grant wrote back, " JVo terms except an unconditional and tmme- 
diate surrender can be accepted^'^ The Confederates were forced 



1 General U. S. Grant was born in Ohio, 1822; died in New York, 1885. He 
was a graduate of West Point, and served in the Mexican War (see Paragraph 292), 
where he was promoted for meritorious conduct in battle. In 1859 he entered into the 
leather and saddlery business with his father at Galena, Illinois. On the breaking 
out of the Civil War he raised a company of Union volunteers, and in August, 1861, 
he was made a brigadier-general, and took command of the department of Cairo. 
His subsequent career will be traced in the pages of this history. 

2 Hence the name sometimes given General Grant of" Unconditional Surrender 
Grant." See copy of General Grant's letter to General Buckner, on page 297. 



2gS LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

to agree to Grant's conditions and the first great Union victory 
of the war was won (February i6, 1862). Fifteen thousand pris- 
oners — " the greatest number ever taken in any battle (up to that 
time) on this continent " — were captured, and also large quantities 
of arms. Columbus was now of no use to the Confederates and 
they abandoned it. The surrender of Nashville followed, and 
Kentucky and Tennessee were in the hands of the Union forces. 

329. Battles of Pittsburg Landing and Island Number 
Ten. — Grant, with his victorious army, then moved up the Ten- 
nessee River to Pittsburg Landing or Shiloh. Here (April 6, 1862) 
he was attacked by General A. S. Johnston and driven back. Some 
hours later General Buell came up with a very large force of Union 
troops. The Union men now outnumbered the Confederates by 
seventeen thousand, and the next day Grant gained his second 

great victory. In his official report he said, 
" I am indebted to General Sherman for the 
success of that battle." On that hotly contested 
field twenty-five thousand men had fallen dead 
or wounded ^ — among them was General John- 
ston — one of the South's noblest men.^ On 
Map of Island No. 10, the following day (April 8, 1862) the Confed- 
showing the Canal cut eratcs on Island Number Ten, in the Missis- 

by the Union troops in . . i i . /"• -i -i~> ^ r^ 

order to take the Con- ^^VVh Surrendered to Commodore Foote, after 
federate fortifications, nearly 3. month's obstinatc fighting. That vic- 
tory was of immense importance in a military point of view, for 
it opened the river to the Union vessels down to Vicksburg, a 
distance of about three hundred miles. 

330. General Summary of the First Year of the War, 
April, 1861, to April, 1862. — The Civil War began April 12, 
1 86 1, with the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter. After the 
surrender of that fort, the first great battle was fought in the sum- 
mer at Bull Run, and resulted in the defeat of the Union army. 




1 Union force, 5 7,000 ; Confederate, 40,000. Union loss, 14,000 ; Confederate, 1 1,000. 
- After he was wounded. General Johnston sent his surgeon to attend to some 
wounded Union prisoners, while he was gone Johnston bled to death. 



EXPEDITION AGAINST NEW ORLEANS. 299 

In the spring of 1862 the battle between the Merrimac and Moni- 
tor occurred, and the Merrimac was forced to retreat. During 
the year the Union forces in the West gained the important 
victories of Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Landing, and 
Island Number Ten. The general result of the year was decidedly 
favorable to the cause of the Union, especially in the West. 

Second Year of the War, April, 1862, to April, 1863. 

331. Expedition against New Orleans ; how the City was 
defended. — Very early in the spring of 1862 an expedition under 
Captain Farragut ^ and General Butler sailed from Fortress Monroe 
to attack New Orleans, the most important city and port in the 
possession of the Confederate government. The approach to 
New Orleans was defended by two strong forts on the Mississippi, 
about seventy-five miles below the city.^ These forts were nearly 
opposite each other, so that any vessels trying to pass between 
them would be exposed to a tremendous cross fire from their 
guns. Just below the forts the Confederates had stretched two 
heavy chain cables, on hulks, across the river to check any Union 
war-ships that might attempt to come up, while above the forts 
they had stationed fifteen armed vessels — two of them ironclads 
like the Merrimac.^ With these defences the city defied attack. 

Captain Farragut had a fleet of nearly fifty wooden vsssels. It 
was considered to be the most powerful " that had ever sailed under 

1 Admiral Farragut was born in Tennessee in 1801 ; died 1870. He entered the 
navy in 1812. In 1841 he was made commander, and later, captain. In 1862, after 
his famous victory at New Orleans, he was promoted to the rank of rear-admiral, 
then (1864) to that of vice-admiral, and in 1866 to that of admiral — the highest posi- 
tion in the United States navy ; the last two grades were created for him. From 
1823 to the outbreak of the Civil War, Farragut's home, when on shore, was at Nor- 
folk, Virginia. He insisted that Virginia had been forced to secede against the will 
of the majority of the people of the state. From 1861 to the close of his life his 
home was at Hastings-on-the-Hudson 

2 New Orleans is about one hundred and five miles from the sea. In the war of 
i8i2 a single fort, at one of the points where those two Confederate forts stood, 
checked the advance of the British fleet for nine days. ^ See paragraph 327. 



300 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

the American flag." General Butler had followed him to take 
command of a force of fifteen thousand men, then at Ship Island,^ 
near New Orleans, and with them to hold the city after its sur- 
render. Farragut's work, with the aid of Commander Porter's 
mortar-boats,^ was to silence the forts, break through the chains, 
conquer the Confederarte fleet, and take the city. 

332. Bombardment of the Forts ; Farragut passes them 
and destroys the Opposing Fleet ; Capture of New Orleans. 

— For six days and nights Commander Porter hammered away at 
the forts, and the forts did their best to hammer back. The dis- 
charge of artillery was deafening, and the shock so severe that it 
killed birds and fish, and broke glass in windows at Balize, thirty 
miles away. Porter's men were completely exhausted by their 
labors at the guns, and the moment they were ofl" duty would drop 
down on the deck and fall fast asleep, amid the continuous roar 
of the battle. 

Finally, Captain Farragut determined to make an attempt to cut 
through the chains, and run past the forts. He succeeded in doing 
this, and after a terrific combat, destroyed the Confederate fleet 
and reached New Orleans. 

The river- front of the city, for a distance of full five miles, was 
all ablaze with burning ships, steamboats, and thousands of bales 
of cotton, which had been set on fire to prevent their capture by 
the Union forces. A party of Farragut's men landed, speedily 
hauled down the "stars and bars" from the public buildings, and 
hoisted the "stars and stripes" in their place (April 25, 1862). 

1 Ship Island is in the Gulf of Mexico, about one hundred miles east of New 
Orleans. See Map on page 331. 

2 Mortar-boats : vessels for carrying mortars, short and very wide-mouthed can- 
non for firing shells. The shells used here were hollow cast-iron balls of great size, 
weighing nearly three hundred pounds. They were filled with powder, and so con- 
structed that when they fell they would explode with tremendous violence. The 
shells made a peculiar screaming, hissing noise as they flew through the air, accom- 
panied by a train of smoke by day and of fire by night. When one buried itself in 
the earth inside of one of the forts and then exploded, the result was like that of a 
small earthquake. 



THE WAR IN VIRGINIA. 



301 



Port Hudson and Vicksburg were now the only important forti- 
fied points on the Mississippi still held by the Confederates. If 
they could be taken, the great river of the West would once more 
be open from its source to the sea. But both Port Hudson and 
Vicksburg stood on immensely high bluffs/ out of the reach of 
the guns of the war-vessels, so that it would he exceedingly difficult, 
if not indeed absolutely impossible, to capture them by an attack 
from the river alone. For this reason an expedition against them 
had to be put off until a land force, as well as one by water, could 
be sent to make the attack.^ 

333. The War in Virginia ; McClellan's Advance on Rich- 
mond ; the Peninsular Campaign ; the Weather. — Before 

Farragut had taken New 
Orleans, General Mc- 
Clellan with one hundred 
thousand men, leaving 
about as many to defend 
Washington,* had begun 
an advance on Rich- 
mond from Fortress 
Monroe. His plan was 
to march up the Penin- 
sula — as the Virginians 
call the long and rather 
narrow strip of land be- 
tween the James and 
York rivers. The Con- 
federates did everything 
in their power to check 
his advance at York- 
Seven Pines and Fair 




SCALE QF MILES 



10 



town and Williamsburg, and, later, at 



1 The banks of the river at Port Hudson and Vicksburg are about two hundred 
feet high. * 40,000 of these were at Fredericksburg under McDowell. 

? Captain Farragut, after taking New Orleans, went up the river, captured Baton 
Rouge and Natchez, and attempted, but in vain, to take Vicksburg. He was now 
made rear-admiral. 



302 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Oaks. Meanwhile heavy rains compelled McClellan's army to 
wade, rather than march, forward through mud and water. To 
increase his difficulties the Chickahominy River had overflowed 
its banks ; and as part of his army was on one side of it and part 
on the other, they could not act together to advantage ; in fact, 
both parts were floundering about for weeks in a swamp, spending 
much of their time in building roads and bridges, and fighting 
the weather rather than the enemy. An immense number of men 
were lost by sickness. 

334. << Stonewall'* Jackson^s Raid; Stuart's Raid ; Re- 
sults of the Peninsular Campaign. — Early in June (1862) 
General Lee ^ took command of the Confederate forces,^ shortly 
after " Stonewall " Jackson had gained a brilliant success.^ 
" Stonewall " had started to drive General Banks' Union army 
out of the Shenandoah Valley, in Western Virginia, and make the 
authorities in Washington think that the capital was in danger of 
immediate attack. With his seventeen thousand men he made 
Banks's nine thousand run for their lives to the Potomac ; and he 
effectually prevented McClellan from getting any help from the 
forty thousand Union troops at Fredericksburg.* Then Lee sent 
General Stuart with a dashing body of cavalry to see what mis- 
chief he could do. He rode clear round McClellan's army, tore 
up the railroads, burned car-loads of provisions, and made mat- 
ters very awkward and uncomfortable for that general. 

From June 25 to July i (1862), Lee and McClellan were engaged 
in a number of desperate fights around Richmond, known as the 
" Seven Days' Battles " ; ^ Lee captured many guns and prisoners ; 
the Union forces retreated to James River, and McClellan and his 
army were recalled to the neighborhood of Washington. In these 

1 See Paragraph 321, note 3. * Note *, page 301. 

2 General Joseph E. Johnston had been in command since the battle of Bull 
Run, July, 1861. He was wounded at the battle of Seven Pines, May 31, 1862, and. 
Lee then took command. 3 gee page 293, note i. 

4 In the last of these battles, that at Malvern Hill, Lee's forces were driven back 
with heavy loss. During the Peninsular campaign the armies of Fremont, Banks, 
and McDowell were united under the name of the Army of Virginia, and the com- 
mand of this force was given to General Pope, who had been successful in the West. 




GENERAL LEE. 



THE SECOND BATTLE OF BULL RUN. 303 

last battles over fifteen thousand men had been lost on each side, 
but the Union army had accomphshed nothing decisive ; though 
it had been within sight of the spires of the Confederate capital, 
and of the wooden or " Quaker guns " which helped to guard it.^ 
Once the alarm there was so great that a niece of Jefferson Davis 
wrote to a friend, " Uncle Jeff thinks we had better go to a safer 
place than Richmond." On the other hand, President Lincoln 
called for additional volunteers ; and new forces, shouting, "We 
are coming, Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more," 
began to go forward to the aid of the government. 

335. The Second Battle of Bull Run; Lee*s Advance 
across the Potomac; Battle of Antietam.'- — Near the last of 
August (1862), Lee advanced his forces against General Pope,* and 
met him in the second battle of Bull Run. " Stonewall " Jackson 
did the heaviest of the fighting. Pope was completely defeated, 
and sent whirling back to the fortifications at Washington. 

Not long after, Lee crossed the Potomac above Washington, his 
men singing exultingly, "Maryland, my Maryland." Lee believed 
that thousands of the Maryland people would welcome him as their 
deliverer, and would join him in a march against Philadelphia. In 
this he was sorely mistaken. In the middle of September, " Stone- 
wall " Jackson captured Harper's Ferry, and thus obtained a quan- 
tity of arms and some provisions. McClellan now advanced to 
meet Lee. At Antietam Creek (or Sharpsburg) one of the blood- 
iest battles of the war was fought (September 17, 1862) ; and 
the bodies of the " boys in blue " and of the " boys in gray " 
lay in ranks like swaths of grass cut by the scythe.' The result of 

1 One of the humorous features of the war was the use of wooden cannon by 
the Confederates in their fortifications at Manassas, Richmond, and elsewhere. It 
was some time before the Union army found out this clever trick of the " Quaker 
guns," which, as a " contraband " said, were "just as good to scare with as any 
others." * See page 302, note 4. 2 Antietam (An-tee'tam). 

3 Union forces actually engaged at Antietam are estimated at about 60,000. 
McClellan's available strength was probably double that of Lee's. Confederate 
forces, 40,000. See Century Company's War-Book II, 603. Loss nearly 12,000 on 
each side. Authorities differ about the strength of the two armies. "Loss" 
in all cases, is understood to include wounded as well as killed. 



304 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

the terrible contest was that Lee was compelled to retreat across 
the Potomac. McClellan followed, but he did not move rapidly 
enough to suit the government authorities, and the command of 
the army was taken from him and given to General Burnside. 

336. Battles of Fredericksburg and Murfreesboro. — Gen- 
eral Burnside set out to march on Richmond, but found the 
Confederates strongly fortified^ on the hills around Fredericksburg, 
on the Rappahannock. In the battle which ensued (December 
13, 1862) he was defeated with heavy loss and forced to fall back 
toward Washington. General Hooker — "Fighting Joe Hooker," 
as his men called him — now received the command of Burnside 's 
army. 

This was the last battle of the year in the East. In the West 
(December 31, 1862) the Confederate General Bragg attacked 
General Rosecrans at Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Each had about 
forty thousand men. The contest raged for three days, and resulted 
in a slight advantage to the Union forces.^ 

337. President Lincoln's Proclamation of Emancipation ; 
its Results. — President Lincoln had entered office resolved, as 
he then said, not to interfere with slavery. But the progress of 
the contest had convinced him that slavery was not only the real 
cause, but also the main strength of the war against the Union. 
He believed that the time had now come when it was his duty to 
strike that cause and that strength a decided blow. On New 
dear's Day, 1863, the President issued a proclamation, freeing 
all the slaves in those states of the South which were still at war 
against the Union.^ Thus by a single stroke of the pen, over three 
millions of negroes received (so far as the government could then 

1 Burnside had about 125,000 men ; Lee had 80,000 strongly entrenched on and 
near the hills. Burnside lost 12,000 men, and Lee not quite half that number. 

2 Union loss, 14,000; Confederate, 11,000. 

3 President Lincoln issued a preliminary proclamation of emancipation on Sep- 
tember 22, 1862, giving one hundred days' warning to the South. In case any state 
chose to return to the Union within that time its slaves were not to be set at liberty 
by the final proclamation. When the President had been repeatedly and strongly 
iirged to liberate the slaves at an earlier period of the war, he declared, " My para- 



8^ o^ do iX 



^ ^ I ^ 



b^'sS 







REDUCED COPY OF A PART OF THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION 

(Jan. I, 1863). 




LINCOLN S PROCLAMATION OF EMANCIPATION. 305 

give it) that most precious, yet most perilous of all rights — the 
ownership of themselves. No greater event is recorded in the 
pages of American history. After the expiration of nearly a hun- 
dred years the nation at last made good, without exception, the 
words of the Declaration of Independence, which declare that 
'^ all men are created equal " ; that is, with equal natural rights 
to " hfe, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." 

Many thousands of negroes were now enlisted in the Union 
army.; but the greater part remained quietly at work on the 
Southern plantations. The freedom of the whole body of slaves 
in the country was not accomplished until after the close of the 
war. Then an amendment to the Constitution^ declared that 
slavery should no longer exist in the United States. That final 
act of emancipation has proved to be as much an advantage to the 
white race, both North and South, as to the negroes themselves. 
Free labor has brought a greater degree of prosperity than any 
section of the country ever obtained under slave labor. Now that 
the South is no longer hampered by having to hold the negroes 
in bondage, it has found its real strength and its true and lasting 
prosperity. 

338. Summary of the Second Year of the War, April, 
1862, to April, 1863. — The one great military success of the 
year on the part of the Union forces was the taking of New 
Orleans. In the East, if McClellan and his successors failed to 
reach Richmond, Lee, on the other hand, failed just as com- 
pletely and far more disastrously in his attempted invasion of the 
North. The Proclamation of Emancipation gave the war a new 
character. Before, the North had been fighting simply to restore 
the Union as it was ; but now, it was to restore the Union without 
slavery — to make the nation wholly free. 

mount object is to save the Union, and not either to save or destroy slavery." 
Again he said : " If the Union can best be saved by emancipating all the slaves, 
I am willing to emancipate them all ; if it can best be saved by emancipating part, 
I am ready to emancipate a part ; and if it can best be saved by not emancipating 
any, I will emancipate none." 

1 See Amendments tcf the Constitution, page xvii. Article XI IL 



3o6 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



Third Yel\r of the War, April, 1S63, to April, 1S64. 

339. The War in the East; Battle of Chancellorsville. — 
In the spring of 1S63, General Hooker crossed the Rapidan, intend- 
ing to advance on Richmond. But he had no sooner started than 
General Lee, with " Stonewall " Jackson, met him at Chancellors- 
ville. Here a two days' battle was fought (May 2-3, 1S63). 
Hooker had twice as many men^ as the Confederates, but he 
was badlv beaten. Possiblv, he mi^ht have 
gained the victory ; but at a critical mo- 
ment he was stunned by a cannon-ball and 
lay senseless for many hours. During all 
that time his army " was without a head." 
Lee, with ''Stonewall" Jackson's effi- 
cient help, not only won the battle, but 
drove the LTnion forces back across the 
river. It was, however, a dearly bought 
triumph to the Confederates, for Jackson 
was accidentally shot by some of his own 

men. He died soon after. It was the 
heaviest loss of the kind which the South 
suffered during the war. Chancellors- 
ville was the last victory gained by the 
Confederates in Virginia in the open field.- 
Soon after this the command of the Union 
army was given to General Meade. 

340. Battle of Gettysburg. — A month 
after the battle of Chancellorsville Lee 
made a second ^ attempt to enter the free 
states and conquer a peace. He moved 
down the Shenandoah Valley witli about 
seventv thousand men, crossed the Potomac the first week in 




" Stonewall " Jackson. 




1 Union forces in the battle, 90,000; Confederate, 45,000. Union loss, 17,000; 
Confederate, about 12,000. General Lee gave Jackson all the credit of tlie victory. 

2 See the Comte de Paris, " History of the War," III. 102. 
8 See Paragraph 335. 



THE SURRENDER OF VICKSBURG. 307 

June (1863), and moved forward into Pennsylvania, intending 
to strike Harrisburg, the capital of the state, and then, if suc- 
cessful there, to march on Philadelphia. General Meade, with 
a Union force of about eighty thousand,^ met Lee at Gettys- 
burg. Here one of the most important and decisive battles of the 
war was fought. Both sides showed the most desperate determina- 
tion to win ; for both knew that the results of victory would be far 
reaching. The Confederates were posted on Seminary Ridge; 
the Union men, on Cemetery Ridge, nearly opposite. The battle 
lasted three days (July 1-3, 1863). On the third and last day 
the Confederate General Pickett, with a force of fifteen thousand 
veterans, charged up the slope of Cemetery Ridge. To reach 
the slope they had to cross a mile of open ground. They came 
forward steadily, silently, under a terrible fire from the Union 
guns. Their ranks were ploughed through and through with shot 
and shell, but the men did not falter. They charged up the 
ridge and broke a part of the Union line ; but they could go no 
further, and Pickett, with the fragments of his division, — for only 
fragments were left, — fell back defeated.* It was the end of the 
most stubbornly fought battle of the war ; nearly fifty thousand 
brave men had fallen ^ in the contest : Lee had failed ; he re- 
treated across the Potomac, and the North was safe, for the 
Confederate general never made another attempt to invade it. 

^341. The Surrender of Vicksburg and Port Hudson. — 

While the great battle of Gettysburg was going on, another battle 
of almost or quite equal importance was being fought at Vicks- 
burg, on the Mississippi. Vicksburg and vicinity were held by a 
strong Confederate force under General Pemberton. Early in the 
spring (1863) General J. E. Johnston (then at Chattanooga, 
Tennessee) moved with an army to join Pemberton. In a num- 
ber of masterly battles Grant defeated Pemberton before Johnston 

1 Lee had 73,500 men, and 190 cannon ; Meade, 82,000, with 300 cannon. 

2 Union loss, 23,000 out of 80,000; Confederate, 25,000 out of 70,000. 

* " I am proud to be the countryman of the men who assailed those heights," said 
President Lincoln when he was shown the slope up which Pickett charged. 



3o8 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



could unite with him. He then forced him to retreat to Vicks- 
burg, and at the same time drove Johnston otf the field. For 
seven weeks following, Grant and Sherman/ with a total force of 
over seventy thousand, besieged Vicksburg. During that time 
the Union men were shelling the city night and day. Food 
had become so scarce that the Confederate troops had but 



one 



{( 



cracker " and a small piece of raw pork a day, and the town 

was so knocked to 
^ ^ pieces with shot and 
shell that the women 
and children were 
forced to live in 
caves dug in the 
'earth. They, too, 
were reduced to a 
few mouthfals of food 
a day ; and when 
'' mule steaks " gave 
out, many had to 
choose between eat- 
ing cats and rats or 
dvinsf of stan-ation. 
Out of less than 
thirty thousand men 
the Confederates 
had six thousand 
sick or wounded in 




SCALE OF MILES 



100 



150 



hospital, besides great numbers unfit for active duty. Finally, 
the case became so desperate that they could hold out no 
longer, and on July 4 (1863), Vicksburg surrendered. Grant 
took nearly thirt}--two thousand prisoners ; they were ragged. 



1 Generals U. S. Grant and ^^^ T. Sherman. General W. T. Sherman was born 
at Lancaster, Ohio, in 1820. He graduated at West Point in 1840, entered the 
regular armv, and was in California during the Mexican ^^'ar. He commanded a 
L'nion brigade at Bull Run, and won the battle of Pittsburg Landing. In May, 
1862, he was made major-general. He died in New York City, Februar)' 14, iBgi. 



SURRENDER OF PORT HUDSON. 



309 



hungry, defeated, but defeated only because human nature could 
endure no more. Before noon of that day the stars and stripes 
were hoisted over the Court House, and Grant and Sherman's 
men made the place ring \vith, — 

" Yes, we'll rally round the flag, boys, 
We'U rally once again, 
Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom." 

Among those that took part in the celebration of that victory 
was the war-eagle " Old Abe." He was a pet bird, the hero of 
many battles, and was carried, perched on the ilag, by one of the 




Vicksburg, showing the Union Gun-Boats and the firing from the Confederate Batteries 

color-bearers of the Eighth Wisconsin Regiment. He had flapped 
his wings and screamed defiance in the thickest of the fight, and 
now he exulted with the " boys in blue " over the result. It was a 
great " Fourth " for the Union. 

Port Hudson surrendered five days later (July 9, i863\. and 
thus the second part of the Union plan of the war was accom- 
plished. The first had been to shut the ports of the South by the 
blockade ; the second, to open the Mississippi River. This had 



310 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

now been done, and the great river flowed in peace from Minne- 
sota to Louisiana, and from Louisiana to the sea. 



342. Draft Riots ; ^Morgan's Raid ; Chickamauga ; Siege 
of Chattanooga. — The last call of President Lincoln for volun- 
teers did not bring anything like the number of men needed, and 
in July (1863), the government began to draft ^ the troops required. 
In New York City mobs of rioters resisted the draft, but they were 
finally put down by armed force, and the necessary men for the 
army were in the end obtained. In the South drafting had long 
been going on, and nearly every able-bodied man was forced to 
serve in the war. 

During the same month General Morgan with a body of Con- 
federate cavalry made a raid through Tennessee and Kentucky 
into Indiana and Ohio, burning mills, factories, and bridges, tear- 
ing up the railroads, and destroying a large amount of property ; 
but he was at last captured and his men scattered. 

In the course of the summer General Rosecrans, with a Union 
army, had got possession of Chattanooga, in Southern Tennessee. 
He then set out in pursuit of the Confederate General Bragg, 
who was stationed with his army at Chickamauga, just over the 
Georgia line. Here a severe battle was fought (September 19-20, 
1863). Bragg had the most men and defeated Rosecrans. The 
Union forces would have suffered still heavier loss had it not 
been for the bravery of Gisneral Thomas — " the Rock of Chicka- 
mauga," as his men called him ; he held his position as stub- 
bornly as a rock, and saved a large part of the army from 
destruction. The Union forces now retreated to Chattanooga, 
and were shut up there by Bragg, who besieged them for two 
months. 

, 343. Battles of Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain; 
Sherman's Raid; Grant made General-in-Chief. — The Con- 
federates held Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, over- 
looking the beautiful Chattanooga Valley. General Hooker had 

1 See page 186, note i. 



6« 








VIEW FROM LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN. 



SUMMARY OF THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 3II 

come from Virginia to take a hand in the fight, and, under Grant, 
he, with Sherman and Thomas, drove the enemy from the moun- 
tains in three battles (November 23-25), — one "the battle above 
the clouds."^ The Confederates now retreated to Dalton, Georgia. 
In February, 1864, General Sherman made a raid^ across Missis- 
sippi, and effectually destroyed the railroads centering at Meridian, 
by ripping up the rails, burning bridges, machine-shops, and loco= 
motives. So little was left of the place that one of the inhabitants 
said, " Sherman didn't simply smash things, but he just carried 
the town off with him." This rendered the Confederates in that 
quarter helpless to attack him at Chattanooga. Shortly after this 
(March 3, 1864), Grant was made general-in-chief of the Union 
armies. At last the right man has been found, and there will be 
no more changes. He will advance on Richmond, and Sherman 
will soon begin his famous march from Chattanooga to Atlanta, 
and from Atlanta to the sea. 

344. Summary of the Third Year of the War, April, 1863, 
to April, 1864. — At the East the Confederates had gained the 
battle of Chancellorsville, but lost " Stonewall " Jackson. Lee's 
second invasion of the North had ended in his defeat at Gettys- 
burg ; at the same time Grant and Sherman were taking Vicksburg. 
Port Hudson surrendered a few days later, and the Mississippi was 
open through its entire length. In the Southwest, the Union forces, 
after severe battles at Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and Look- 
out Mountain, were successful. Grant was now made general-in- 
chief of the Union forces ; he went East to manage the- war there, 
and left Sherman in charge of the West. 

Fourth and Last Year of the War, April, 1864, to April, 1865. 

345. Grant and Sherman agree on a << Hammering Cam- 
paign.'' — Early in the spring of 1864, Grant and Sherman met 

1 That of Lookout Mountain. Union forces in the campaign 60,000, loss 5800; Con- 
federate 40,000 (?), loss 6700. 2 From Vicksburg, destroying the roads on the way. 



312 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 




and decided on a plan of action. The Confederates had been 
driven from the Mississippi ; they now had two chief centres of 
power left. Lee, with an army of about sixty thousand, held the 
southern banks of the Rapidan and the Rappahannock, thus guard- 
ing Richmond, and all the country south of it. Johnston, with 

about seventy-five 
thousand, held 
Dalton, Georgia 
(a town a short 
distance below 
Chattanooga, Ten- 
nessee), and all the 
country south and 
east of it. Grant 
and Sherman 
agreed to divide 
their work: the 
first, with one hun- 
dred and twenty 
thousand men, was 
to move on Lee 
and compel him 
to surrender Rich- 
mond ; the sec- 
ond, then at Chat- 
tanooga with an 
army of one hun- 
dred thousand, was 
to march the same day on Johnston, beat him, and then push his 
way through to the sea. This was " the famous hammering cam- 
paign," Grant and Sherman agreed "to hammer" together, "to 
hammer " with all their might, and never to leave off " hammer- 
ing,"^ until they had given the finishing blow, and permanently 
established peace, union, and freedom for the whole country. 

1" Hammering" in the sense of giving the Confederates no rest Grant did 
this, largely, by direct attack ; Sherman, largely, by indirect or flank attack. 



2d 



SCAUE OF MILES 

■I 



50 



^ 



75 



100 




/A^UA^dyi^t t-yUuilAX^K^ 




GENERAL GRANT. 



SINKING OF THE ALABAMA. 3 13 

346. The Battles of the Wilderness. — South and east of the 
Rapidan is a desolate region known as " the Wilderness." Much 
of it is covered with a scraggy growtV of oak, pine, and tangled 
underbrush. Into the Wilderness Grant's army began to advance 
for the conquest of Richmond (May 4, 1864), and sitting on a log 
in that wilderncbs Grant telegraphed to Sherman at Chattanooga 
to begin his march into Georgia. From that time until June, or 
about a month in all. Grant was " hammering " at Longstreet and 
other noted fighters of the Confederate army, first in the thick of 
the Wilderness itself, then at Spottsylvania Court-House (May 
8-18, 1864), then at Cold Harbor (June 3, 1864), on the edge 
of the fortifications of Richmond, where, it is said, ten thousand 
of the '^men in blue" fell in twenty minutes. It was a terrible 
series of battles, costing the Union army a loss in killed and 
wounded of over sixty thousand men, and Lee about half that 
number. Grant had vowed that he would not turn back, but 
would fight it out on that line if it took all summer. He did not 
turn back ; but he had to give up his direct line of advance, and 
take another. Lee had retreated, and entrenched himself inside 
the fortifications of Richmond ; in order to draw him out to a 
battle in the open field, or to find a more favorable point of 
attack. Grant now moved round to Petersburg on the south of 
the Confederate capital. 

347. Captain Winslow sinks the Alabama ; Early's Raid. 

— Petersburg was strongly fortified, and Grant had to lay siege 
to it with shot and shell as he did to Vicksburg, While he was 
busy in this way. Captain Winslow of the United States war-ship 
Rears arge attacked the Alabama} commanded by Captain Semmes. 
The fight took place ofi" the northern coast of France (June 19, 
1864). Captain Winslow gamed the victory and sunk the vessel 
that had destroyed so many Northern merchant ships. 

Abotlt the beginning of July (1864), Lee despatched Gen- 
eral Early with a strong force to make a dash on Washing- 

1 See Paragraph 326. 



314 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



ton. He succeeded in getting within half a dozen miles of that 
fort-girdled city, and then had to retreat up the Shenandoah 
Valley. He carried off with him about five thousand horses and 
two thousand cattle to gladden the hearts of the men in "Dixie's 
land."^ Later in the same month Early's cavalry made a raid 
into Pennsylvania, and burned Chambersburg. 




Grant shelling Petersburg. 

(Notice the defences formed of stakes and trees in front of the Union Army.) 

348. Sheridan^s Raid in the Shenandoah Valley. — Grant 
now (August 7, 1864) sent General Sheridan- with a strong force 
of Union cavalry to lay waste the Shenandoah Valley. This valley 
was one of the chief strongholds of the Confederates, and Grant 



1 " For Dixie's land we take our stand, 
And live or die for Dixie ! " 

This was one of the most famous of the Southern war-songs. It was a great 
favorite with President Lincoln. * 

2 General Sheridan was of Irish descent, and was born in Albany, New York, in 
1831; died 1888. He graduated at West Point in 1853. In 1864 he was appointed 
commander of all the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac, and after his famous 
" ride " to Winchester he was made a major-general. 



SHERIDAN'S RIDE. 315 

was determined to destroy everything in it which could support 
their men. Sheridan went to work with a will, and in the course 
of a few weeks he had burned so many barns and mills filled with 
grain, and driven off so many sheep and cattle, that it was said, 
" If a crow wants to fly down the valley, he must carry his provis- 
ions with him." Could "Stonewall" Jackson have re-visited that 
beautiful country, — the pride of his heart, — he would have wept 
fierce tears over its heaps of desolate ashes, as the women and 
children of Chambersburg had wept and wrung their hands at the 
sight of their blazing homes. 

349. The Petersburg Mine ; Sheridan's Ride. — Meanwhile 
(July 30, 1864) General Burnside had undermined the Confeder- 
ate fortifications at Petersburg, and placed eight thousand pounds 
of powder in the mine. When it was exploded, it made a deep 
chasm or "crater" nearly two hundred feet long. The Union sol- 
diers rushed into the breach, hoping to enter the city ; but the Con- 
federate fire made it a " slaughter-pen " and a gigantic grave for 
hundreds of brave fellows, while those who got out found them- 
selves prisoners in the hands of Lee's army. 

In September (1864) there was fighting in the Shenandoah 
Valley between Sheridan and Early, in which Sheridan gained the 
day. Later, Early took advantage of Sheridan's absence from his 
army to surprise the Union force at Cedar Creek in the Valley. 
They retreated, and the retreat soon became a panic. Sheridan 
was then at Winchester, about twenty miles away. He heard the 
cannon with their 

" terrible grumble, and rumble, and roar, 
Telling the battle was on once more." ^ 

Mounting his horse, he hurried to the scene of disaster. As he 
came up, a great cheer greeted him from the Union cavalry. 
"We must face the other way," shouted Sheridan to the retreat- 

1 See Read's poem of " Sheridan's Ride " in Ginn & Co.'s " Heroic Ballads " ; then 
read Sheridan's own modest account of the " ride " in his " Personal Memoirs," 
II. 66-92. See map showing the Shenandoah Valley on page 312. 



3l6 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

ing men. They did face the other way, and so effectually that 
they speedily drove the Confederates " flying " out of that part of 
the Valley. 

^^350. The War in the West; Sherman^s Advance to 
Atlanta. — According to agreement Sherman began his advance 
from Chattanooga to Atlanta the same day (May 4, 1864) that 
Grant marched forward into the Wilderness. Atlanta was not 
only a great railroad centre, but it was " the chief seat of the 
machine-shops, foundries, and factories of the Confederacy." 
For this reason its capture would be one of the severest blows to 
the Southern armies that the Union forces could strike. 

Sherman advanced slowly. His march was through a rough, 
mountainous country, and there were sharp battles fought at 
Resaca (May 14-15, 1864), at Dallas (May 25-28, 1864), and at 
Kenesaw Mountain (June 27, 1864) ; but the Confederates could 
not check him in his march. Of the two the soldiers would much 
rather have fought more battles and had less rain. For three 
weeks it poured most of the time night and day ; while he was 
marching, every man had a rivulet streaming down his back, and, 
as the army carried no tents, he was fortunate when night came 
if he did not have to sleep in a puddle. 

As fast as the Confederates fell back they tore up the railroad 
track and burned the bridges ; but Sherman's men rebuilt them 
so rapidly that " the whistle of the locomotives was always follow- 
ing close on the heels of Johnston's soldiers." 

351. Sherman takes Atlanta; Farragut enters Mobile 

Bay. — After a series of battles with Hood, to whom Jefferson 
Davis had now given the command in place of Johnston, Sherman 
took Atlanta (September 2, 1864). He had advanced a hundred 
iniles from Chattanooga, and in that short distance each side had 
lost about thirty thousand men : that meant that every mile had 
cost the two armies six hundred killed and wounded. Sherman 
applied the torch to Atlanta, burning the foundries, mills, and 
machine-shops, but sparing dwelling-houses and churches. The 



L 






f 




o 




ADMIRAL FARRAGUT. 



SHERMANS MARCH FROM ATLANTA. 31/ 

V 

destruction crippled the Southern armies. From that time they 
fought Hke a man with one of his arms broken : they were as 
brave, as resolute as ever, but they were losing ground every day. 
Meanwhile Admiral Farragut attacked Mobile (August 5, 1864), 
stationing himself in the rigging of his vessel, where he could see 
every move in the battle ; after a hard fight he forced his way with 
his fleet past the forts, and took possession of the harbor. It was 
the admiral's last and greatest battle. It completely closed the 




Farragut's Letter Home, written just before the Battle. 

I am going into Mobile Bay in the morning if " God is my leader," as I hope he is, 

D. G. Farragut. 

port of Mobile^ against supplies sent to the Confederates from 
abroad. It was thus one more important step taken toward com- 
pelling the final surrender of the South. 

352. Sherman's March from Atlanta to the Sea. — After 
the fall of Atlanta, Jefferson Davis ordered the Confederate army 
to abandon the State of Georgia, his intention being to strike 
General Thomas, who held Nashville. He hoped in this way to 



1 All the ports of the South had long been blockaded by Union war-vessels, but 
in some cases " blockade-runners " succeeded in evading these vessels, and thus a 
certain amount of secret commerce was carried on. 



3i8 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



compel Sherman to turn back to help Thomas. But Sherman 
believed that " the Rock of Chickamauga " ^ was quite able to 
take care of himself; he therefore resolved to push forward. 
About the middle ot November, 1864, Sherman cut the telegraph 
and railroad lines which connected him with the North. Thus 
" detached from all friends, dependent on its own resources and 
supplies," his army set out on their great march to the sea, two 
hundred miles distant in a direct line. For four weeks Sherman 
and his men disappeared. The North knew nothing of his move- 




An Incident of the March through Georgia. 

ments. But Grant had faith that his friend would not get hope- 
lessly lost, and that sometime the country would hear from him. 

Meanwhile Sherman was going forward with sixty thousand 
veterans, plenty of provisions, and practically no force to resist 
him. He cut a clean swath sixty miles wide ^ from Atlanta to 



1 See Paragraph 342. 

- " So we made a thoroughfare for Freedom and her train, 
Sixty miles in latitude, three hundred to the main." 

— Soldiers' Song, Marching through Georgia. 



THOMAS DESTROYS HOOD S ARMY, 



319 



Savannah, destroying railroads and whatever else could be of use to 
the Confederates, and eating the plantations and towns on the way 
bare of everything, — hay, cows, pigs, chickens ; whatever, in fact, 
horse or man could devour disappeared before the advancing army. 
Along this broad track of desolation — the stern result of war — 
several thousand negroes followed in the wake of " Massa Sherman," 
shouting and singing as they trudged on. 




Map of Sherman's March. 

353. Thomas destroys Hood's Army. — While Sherman was 
pressing forward, the Confederate General Hood — one of the 
best fighters in the South — moved from the vicinity of Atlanta 
into Tennessee to attack Thomas. A battle was fought at Franklin 
(November 30, 1864), without any very decisive results. Then 
Hood besieged Thomas in Nashville. Thomas was slow, but 
when he did strike, it was with sledge-hammer force. He attacked 
Hood (December 15-16, 1864), and cut his army all to pieces. 
The miserable remnant, ragged, barefooted, wet to the skin by 
incessant winter rains, shivering and starving, escaped, as best they 
could, leaving their sick and wounded to die along the roadside. 
This ended the war in Tennessee ; the Confederacy from eleven 



320 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



States had now practically shrunk to three, — Virginia, and North 
and South Carolina ; the rest were either inactive, as in the case 
of Florida and Texas, or they were under the control of the 
military power of the United States. 

354. Sherman takes Savannah and moves Northward. — 

In a little less than a month from the day when he left Atlanta, 
Sherman reached Savannah. He stormed and took Fort McAllis- 
ter on the south of the city (December 13, 1864), and nine days 
later he sent the following message to the President, — 

"Savannah, Georgia, Dec. 22, 1864. 

*' To his Excellency, President Lincoln, Washington, D.C. : 

" I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the City of Savannah, with one 
hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammunition; also about twenty-five 
thousand bales of cotton. 

"W. T. Sn^mAAN, Major- Generaiy'^ 

Sherman's men had long before come to the conclusion that the 
sea-coast was not their final destination, and would call out to the 

General as he rode past, "Uncle Billy, I 
guess Grant is waiting for us at Rich- 
mond ! " ^ 

They were right, and on the ist of Feb- 
ruary, 1865, Sherman set out with his army 
northward. It was a seven weeks' march 
through mud, rain, and swamps. He had 
to fight Johnston with a Confederate army 
of forty thousand men, near Goldsboro, 
North Carolina (March 19, 1865). Mean- 
while Charleston and Wilmington had been 
captured by Union forces : the Confederacy had lost its last sea- 
ports. 

About a week later (March 27, 1865), General Sherman, leav- 




General Sherman. 



1 General Sherman sent this message by a vessel to Fortress Monroe, whence it 
was telegraphed to the President. It reached him on Christmas-eve. 

2 See Sherman's " Memoirs," II. 179. 



V \^ ,<^ ^ ^^^ <^^ ^ ^ ^^ Vs- 3 



6^ 60 o<& '^ 



s 

5 






? 







+ -1- + 





4-i~ +-f-f--K4. 4- H-.J-4. 




?$^^R 



} -op- /; 

Ivi^ ZlA.y'V'Ui^ (^^VTA^ Mr6tpL Orf<^ • fli^ I 

j 

LEE'S LETTER TO GRANT RESPECTING THE SURRENDER OF THE j 

CONFEDERATE ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA I 



THE END OF THE WAR. 321 

ing his victorious army at Goldsboro, went to City Point, on James 
River, Virginia, to consult with Grant. 

/ 355. The End of the War. — Sheridan now made a raid 
south through the Shenandoah Valley, in which he destroyed the 
railroad and canal from Lynchburg, on the west of Richmond, 
nearly up to the Confederate capital. This had the effect of 
cutting off a large part of the provisions for Lee's army. Sheri- 
dan next (March 29, 1865) made a similar raid to the south of 
Richmond. Lee had now only forty thousand men to Grant's 
one hundred thousand. While the Confederate general was trying 
to guard against Sheridan, Grant threw his whole force on Peters- 
burg and captured it (April 2, 1865). Lee retreated from Rich- 
mond, and the next day (April 3, 1865) Grant's forces entered 
the capital of the Southern Confederacy, and raised the old flag 
over the city. Jefferson Davis escaped to North Carolina.^ Lee's 
forces were now completely broken up ; and many of his men 
were so weak from want of food that they could not shoulder a 
musket. On April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appo- 
mattox Court-House, a little place about seventy-five miles west 
of Richmond. Nothing could be more nobly generous than the 
terms given by General Grant to the defeated Confederates. The 
only conditions he demanded were that the men should lay down 
their arms and return to their homes. Those who had horses 
were permitted to take them with them ; for, as Grant remarked, 
they "would need them for the ploughing." Finally, the victorious 
general issued an order to serve out twenty-five thousand rations 
of food to Lee's half-starved men. That meant that the strife was 



1 Jefferson Davis was captured in Georgia, May 11, 1865. He was sent to 
Fortress Monroe as a prisoner. He remained there two years, and was then 
released. Johnston surrendered near Raleigh, North Carolina, to Sherman, April 
26, 1865. By the end of May all the Confederate forces had surrendered and dis- 
banded. None of the leaders or men engaged in the War of Secession were 
brought to trial for having taken up arms against the national government ; but 
Henry Wirz, the Swiss commandant at Andersonville, Georgia, was charged with 
cruel treatment of Union prisoners, and was tried and convicted by court-martial; 
he was hanged, November lo, 1865. 



322 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

over, and that peace and brotherhood were restored. Five days 
afterward (April 14, 1865), General Anderson hoisted the identical 
flag over Fort Sumter, under whose starry folds he had fought 
against Beauregard. It was exactly four years to a day since the 
Confederates had won their first victory in the Civil War. 

Thus ended the great contest, which had cost in all probably 
over half a million of lives and thousands of millions of dollars.^ 
The triumphant joy of those who had fought to save the Union 
was quenched in tears ; for on the evening following the celebra- 
tion at Fort Sumter (April 14, 1865), the President was shot by 
an assassin.^ Many of those who had fought against him in the 
South wept at his death. He was the friend of every American ; 
none of us or of our children. North or South, will ever know a 
more unselfish or a truer man than Abraham Lincoln. 

356. The North and the South in the War. — So far as 

sacrifice of life was concerned, the North and the South suffered 
alike, and in both sections sisters, wives, and mothers were mourn- 
ing for those who had fallen on the battle-field. But in every 
other respect the privations and sufferings of the war fell almost 
wholly on the South. At the North business went on as usual, 
or with increased activity. All the seaports were open, and trade 
and commerce flourished. In the quiet homes of many millions 
of people the progress of the war was only known by newspaper 
reports. The hardships, the horrors, of the struggle touched none 
of them directly. 

Thanks to the financial ability and the unfailing energy of 
Treasurer Chase, the government never lacked means to carry on 
the contest. Whatever money could do for the equipment and 

1 The total war debt of the North was nearly ^3,000,000,000 ; this, however, rep- 
resents but a part of the expense. The greatest number of men engaged in the Union 
armies at any one time was about 1,000,000; in the Confederate, about 700,000, 
though the Southern armies generally did not reach a total of above 350,000. 

2 President Lincoln was shot at the theatre by John Wilkes Booth, who was the 
leader of a conspiracy for the assassination of the President, Vice-President, the 
cabinet, and General Grant. Booth was pursued and shot, four of the other con- 
spirators were hanged, and four imprisoned. 



\ 



FOURTH AND LAST YEAR OF THE WAR. 323 

comfort of the Union forces was done without stint or murmur, 
even when the expenses exceeded ^3,500,000 a day. 

In addition to all this care for the men by the government, the 
Sanitary and the Christian Commissions were unwearied in their 
great work of love and mercy among the wounded and the sick. 
Once in hospital no one was ever asked on which side he had 
fought ; but tender hands ministered to his needs, and soothed 
his sufferings, whether he wore the " blue " or the " gray." 

With the people of the South all was differento Their ports were 
blockaded, their business ruined. The country had no money, no 
manufactures ; the negroes had been set free. In their extremity 
Southern ladies cut up their carpets to make blankets and clothes 
for the soldiers, and churches gave their bells to be cast into can- 
non. Long before the final surrender there was sore want every- 
where throughout the South, and everywhere the people were either 
suffering from the destruction necessarily caused by invading armies 
or from the dread of such invasion. The wonder is not that they 
had to yield at last, but that under such discouragements and such 
hardships they held out so long and so bravely. 

357. Summary of the Fourth and Last Year of the War, 
April, 1864, to April, 1865. — This year was marked by Grant 
and Sherman's " hammering campaign," which ended in the 
destruction of the Confederate power in the West and in the 
East, and was followed by the surrender of Lee and his army. 
This, with the surrender of Johnston,^ which occurred soon after, 
ended the four years' war, and established the Union on a solid 
foundation of freedom for all men within its borders. 

1 In his last orders to his troops, General Johnston said : " 1 earnestly expect you 
to observe faithfully the terms of pacification agreed upon, and to discharge the 
obligations of good and peaceful citizens as/well as you have performed the duties 
of thorough soldiers in the field." Like a*'brave officer, Johnston led the way in 
the execution of this order by his own example. General Johnston died March 21, 
1891, shortly aftei he had acted as pall-bearer at the funeral of his friend, General 
W. T. Sherman. 



324 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



VII. 

" America is another word for Opportunity." — R. W. Emerson, Essay on 

American Civilization. 



-*o*- 



RECONSTRUCTION. — THE NEW NATION (1865 to the 

Present Time). 

Andrew Johnson. 

358. Johnson^s Administration (Seventeenth President, 
April 15, 1865, to 1869). Difficulty of the President's 
Task; the Grand Review; Disbanding the Armies. — The 

untimely death of President Lincoln made Andrew Johnson ' the 
head of the nation. The position to which the new President was 
thus suddenly called, was peculiarly hard and trying ; for if the 
great heart of Lincoln had to bear the sad burden of four years of 
civil war, his successor had to undertake the delicate and difficult 
work of reconstruction, — that is, of restoring the seceded states 
to their former places in the Union. 

Now that the war was over, the first thing to be done was to 
disband the armies. But multitudes wished to see the brave men 
who had fought to save the nation ; and late in May a grand review 
of Grant and Sherman's troops took place in Washington. 

1 Andrew Johnson was born at Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1808 ; died 1875. He 
learned the tailor's trade and moved to Greenville, Tennessee. He never attended 
school, but was entirely self-educated. He was elected to Congress in 1843, by the 
Democrats, and to the United States Senate in 1857. When the Civil War broke 
out he took a decided stand against secession. In 1862 President Lincoln ap- 
pointed him military governor of Tennessee. On Lincoln's second election to the 
presidency by the Republicans, Johnson was elected Vice-President. See page 283, 
note I. 



DISBANDING THE ARMIES. 



325 



For the first time since the beginning of the war, the trium- 
phant armies of the East and of the West were united. During 
the greater part of two days (May 23, 24, 1865), the broad avenue 
from the Capitol to the White House resounded with martial music, 
and with the strong, steady tread of a column over thirty miles 
long. The march of these seemingly endless regiments of sun- 
burnt veterans, bearing their glittering muskets and their tattered, 
smoke-stained battle flags, festooned with flowers, was a magnif- 
icent sight. No such spectacle had ever been seen before in 
America ; as one enthusiastic officer declared, " It was worth ten 
years of a man's life for him to be able to say, ' I was there.' " 




The Capitol at Washington. 

But grand as the display was, something grander was to come 
— that was the fact that in the course of a few weeks, all these 
men, with many hundreds of thousands more,^ laid down their 



1 With the exception of about 50,000 men, kept as a standing army, to preserve 
order, all the Union troops, numbering over a million, were now disbanded. The 
number of Confederates disbanded was about 175,000. 

In 1866 about 1500 "Fenians" — Irish citizens of the United States, who felt 
that England had wronged their native land — mvaded Canada. Many of them 
had served in the war for the Union and now hoped to strike Great Britain a blow, 
but as the movement was discountenanced by the United States it came to nothing. 



326 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

arms and went quietly to their homes. Neither on the Northern 
nor on the Southern side, says a recent writer, was there a single 
act of lawlessness recorded to stain their proud repute as soldiers 
and Americans. 

359. What the War settled. — And now that all is over, now 
that the " men in blue " and the " men in gray" have gone back 
to their farms and their workshops, let us ask, What did the war 
settle ? 

First, as a Southern historian admits,^ it " extinguished seces- 
sion " as completely as water extinguishes a flame of fire. Hence- 
forth it was understood that no state had the right to leave the 
Union ; for the Union needs every one ; it must have every one, 
just as the body needs every member of which it is composed. 
Take away one of those members, a foot or a hand, and the man 
is no longer whole, he is a cripple. So with the American Re- 
public ; take away one of its members, one of its states, and it is 
no longer a complete nation, it cannot make the progress it did 

before.^ 

Secondly, the war destroyed slavery, — that was an advantage 
to every one, white or black. North or South, simply because if a 
man owns himself he will, as a rule, put more brain and muscle 
into his work, and accomplish more than if some one else owns 
him. 

Thirdly, the war showed the real strength of the Republic. It 
proved that there was ' not air enough on our continent to float 
two different American flags.' The Union was not to be broken. 
The North was strong in its fidelity to the Union, in its numbers 
and in its victory. The South was strong because its honor was 
represented by such meri as General Lee. He had fought with all 
his might ; he had been fairly beaten. He accepted the result. 
He applied to the government for pardon, because he felt that it 
was his duty to set an example to his men. He said, ' Remember 
that we are one country now. Do not bring up your children in 

1 Pollard, " The Lost Cause." 

2 In the words of the Chief-Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court (1869) the Republic 
is "an indestructible Union, composed of indestructible States." 



THE president's PROCLAMATION OF PARDON. 327 

hostility to the government of the United States. Bring them up 
to be Americans.' ^ 

360. The President's Proclamation of Pardon ; the Con- 
test between Congress and the President. — The President 
issued a proclamation of pardon (May 59, 1865) to the greater 
part of the people of the seceded states on condition that they 
would swear to ' faithfully support, protect, and defend the Con- 
stitution and the Union.' A majority of the inhabitants of those 
states took the oath. They furthermore bound themselves to 
accept the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which 
prohibited slavery, and they agreed never to demand payment of 
any part of the Southern war debt. 

Now came the question whether these states should be at once 
permitted to send representatives to Congress. The President 
said. Yes ; but a majority in Congress said. No. The reason for 
this denial was that the greater part of Congress believed that it 
would not be safe to restore the Southern States to their full politi- 
cal rights until more was done to protect the negroes or " freed- 
men," as they were now called, in the enjoyment of their new 
liberty. 

From this time forward the President and Congress were en- 
gaged in bitter strife with each other. Congress refused to re-ad- 
mit the Southern States, and passed a number of bills ^ in favor 
of the " freedmen," one of which made them citizens,^ another 
gave them military protection, while a third granted them pow&r 
to vote in the District of Columbia. The President believed that 
the South would deal fairly by the " freedmen," and he therefore 
vetoed these bills ; Congress then passed them over his veto.* 

1 See Cooke's " Life of Robert E. Lee." 

2 Civil Rights Bills, and establishment of the Freedmen's Bureau. 

8 By making the " freedmen" citizens, Congress (by the Civil Rights Bill, March, 
1866) gave them the right to protection under the laws of the United States, with 
power to use the courts to sue for the payment of debts and the like. 

4 In case the President vetoes a bill (that is, refuses to sign it, and so make it 
law), Congress may pass the bill without the President's signature, providing two- 
thirds of the members vote that it be made law. See the Constitution, page ix. sec. 7, 



328 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

361. Congress puts the Southern States under Military 
Government. — In the spring of 1867 Congress passed another 
bill over the President's veto. This new law divided the South 
into districts, each of which was to be governed by a military 
governor. The " freedmen " were given the right to vote, but that 
right was denied to all those white inhabitants who had taken 
a prominent part in the war against the Union. Each state was 
to continue under this form of government until the people of the 
states, — black as well as white — should form a government accept- 
ing the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. That amend- 
ment declared the negro a citizen ; it made it a great disadvantage 
to a state to deny him the right to vote or to hold office ; finally 
it shut out the chief white men of the South from holding any 
high office.^ When these conditions should be accepted, but not 
before, the Southern States might send representatives to Congress. 

Tennessee, President Johnson's state, having fulfilled all the 
conditions required, had been re-admitted in 1866. 

362. Six States re-admitted ; Negro Legislators and << Car- 
pet-Baggers.' ** — Six states accepted these conditions ; ^ four re- 
fused, butacceptedthemlater( 1870). In some of the restored states, 
especially in South Carolina, there were more negroes than white men. 
The negroes now got control of these states. They had been slaves 
all their lives, and were so ignorant that they did not even know the 
letters of the alphabet. Yet they now sat in the state legislatures 
and made the laws. After the war many industrious Northern 
men settled in the South, but, besides these, certain greedy advent- 
urers went there eager to get political office and political spoils. 

1 See the Constitution, page xviii. The Fourteenth Amendment furthermore 
required the South to repudiate their war-debt and to agree to the payment of the 
Union war-debt. 

2 The six states which accepted (and were re-admitted June, 1868) were Ala- 
bama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Georgia, 
Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia remained out until 1870. 

* " Carpet-Baggers " : a nickname given by Southerners to those Northern poli- 
ticians who went South after the war (with no baggage or property except a carpet- 
bag) for the purpose of getting office and plunder. Those Southerners who joined 
the " Carpet-Baggers " in their schemes were nicknamed " Scalawags." 



CONGRESS IMPEACHES THE PRESIDENT. 329 

These " Carpet-Baggers," as they were called, used the ignorant 
" freedmen" as tools to carry out their own selfish purposes. The 
result was that the negro legislators, under the direction of the 
"Carpet-Baggers," plundered and, for the time, well-nigh ruined 
the states that had the misfortune to be subject to their rule.-^ 

After a time the white population throughout the South resolved 
that they would no longer endure this state of things. Partly by 
per.ceable and partly by violent means they succeeded in getting 
the political power into their own hands, and the reign of the 
" Carpet-Bagger " and the negro came to an end. 

363. Congress impeaches the President ; Proclamation of 
Full and Unconditional Pardon ; the Fifteenth Amendment. 

— Meanwhile the quarrel between Congress and the President was 
constantly growing more and more serious. The President was not 
only determined to have his own way, but also to remove from 
office those who did not agree with him. Congress now passed 
a law^ forbidding him to dismiss even the members of his own 
cabinet or private council without the consent of the Senate. 

The President denied the power of Congress to make such a 
law, and he removed Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, who 
had been appointed by President Lincoln, For this refusal to 
obey the law Congress now (February 25, 1868) proceeded to 
impeach^ the President. On his trial thirty-five senators voted 
" guilty " and nineteen " not guilty " ; as this was less than the 
two-thirds vote required to convict him. President Johnson was 
therefore acquitted. One more vote against him would have re- 
moved him from the presidency. 

1 In 1868 the total debt of South Carolina was about ^5,000,000. Under four 
years of" Carpet-Bag " government, or rather misgovernment, the debt was increased 
to no less than ^30,000,000. Much of the debt represented simply what was stolen 
from the people of the state. 

2 The Tenure of Office Act (repealed 1887). 

3 Impeach the President : to bring him to trial. The House of Representatives 
makes the charges and the Senate tries the case — -the Chief Justice presiding. 
S«e the Constitution, pages viii. and xiii. As only part of the Southern states had 
been re-admitted, the number of senators was then but 54. 



330 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



On the Christmas following (1868) the President issued a proc- 
lamation of full and unconditional pardon to all persons, without 
exception, who had taken part in the war against the Union. 

Early in the year following (1869) Congress passed the Fif- 
teenth Amendment to the Constitution.^ The Thirteenth Amend- 
ment (passed 1865) made the negro free, the Fourteenth Amend- 
ment made him a citizen,^ the Fifteenth finished the work and 
made him a voter. All these great changes had taken place within 
the short space of four years ! 

364. The Atlantic Cable. — But these political events were 
not the only ones in which the country was interested. It will be 

remembered that Professor 
Morse, the inventor of the 
telegraph, had predicted^ 
that the time would come 
when messages would be 
sent across the sea by elec- 
tricity. 

Cyrus W. Field of New 
York formed a company to 
accomplish the work by 
means of a wire cable laid on 
the bottom of the Atlantic, be- 
tween Great Britain and the United States. The company lost 
several millions in attempting to do this, though they succeeded 
in laying a cable in 1858 by which messages were sent for a few 
weeks. Not to be discouraged, Mr. Field formed a new com- 
pany, and raised more money for the work. In the summer of 
1866 the steamship Great Easterii laid a new cable between 
Valentia Bay, Ireland, and the port of Heart's Content, Newfound- 
land, thence connecting with the United States. On Friday, July 
27, 1866, instantaneous communication beneath the ocean was 
established between the Old World and the New. This communi- 




The Atlantic Cable. 



1 Ratified by the states in 1870. 2 See note 3 on page 327. 

« See page 254, note 4. 



THE PURCHASE OF ALASKA. 



33 r 



cation has never since been interrupted.^ Every important event 
which occurs in Europe is now known here as soon as it is there. 
News which appears in the London morning papers, and which 
is read at the Enghsh breakfast-tables, is read also at ours on the 
same day throughout the length and breadth of the United States. 

365. The Purchase of Alaska ; Payment of the National 
Debt. — The next year (1867) our government purchased from 
Russia the territory of Alaska, embracing about 550,000 square 
miles. We paid a little over ^7,000,000,^ or about what we 
spent m less than four days in carrying on the last year of the 
war.^ This addition to our territory raised the total area of the 
United States to about 3,600,000 square miles, or nearly equal 
to that of all the countries of Europe united. 

Alaska includes the islands of the Aleutian Archipelago, which 
extend a very long way westward. This makes San Francisco the 
city nearest the centre — east and west — of the United States ; 
the distance from that city to the eastern coast of Maine being 
about 3600 miles, and to Attoo, the farthest of the Aleutian islands, 
over 3800 miles. 

Secretary Seward persuaded Congress to make this purchase, in 
order to extend our power on the Pacific coast. Many Congress- 
men thought it was a waste of money, and one called Alaska 
" the refrigerator of the United States." But it promises to be- 
come a very profitable " refrigerator." Its furs, forests, and fish 
are constantly increasing in value, some gold is found there, and the 
trade in seal-skins alone now amounts to over ^2,000,000 a yea^/ 

Besides buying this new territory the national government began 
as soon as the war was over to pay off the great war debt, amount- 
ing to nearly ^3,000,000,000,^ — a sum so enormous that in the 

1 Several additional cables have since been laid. 2 ^7^200,000. 

3 The average daily expenses of the war 1864-1865 were over ^2,000,000, and for 
a time some estimates make them ^3,500,000. 

4 See Ballou's " New Eldorado " (Alaska). 

5 The actual debt was ^2,750,000,000, This was independent of the state debts, 
>\hich were very heavy. 



332 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

longest life-time a person counting out the dollars one by one, at 
the rate of sixty a minute, could not get through even a third of it. 
Before all the soldiers had been sent home we had paid off over 
^30,000,000. Since then we have paid about ^1,700,000,000 more. 
Should we continue to reduce our debt at the same rate we shall 
finish paying it in about fourteen years. No country in Europe 
has ever settled such a debt.^ To-day our credit should stand 
higher than that of any other nation on the globe. 

366. Summary. — During President Johnson's administration 
six of the seceded states were re-admitted to the Union ; but Con- 
gress and the President did not agree, and Congress attempted by 
impeachment to remove the President from office. 

Three amendments to the Constitution were made during Mr. 
Johnson's presidency.^ The first declared the negro free, the 
second made him a citizen, the third, a voter. 

The other important events were: i. The full pardon of all 
persons who had fought against the Union. 2. The beginning of 
the payment of the national debt. 3. The laying of the Atlantic 
cable. 4. The purchase of Alaska. 

Ulysses S. Grant. 

367. Grant's Administration (Eighteenth President, Two 
Terms, 1 869-1 877) ; Completion of the Pacific Railroad; 
what Railroads and Telegraphs have done for the Union. — 

A little over two months after President Grant ^ was inaugurated, 

1 Between 1871 and 1873, or in less than three years, France paid Germany a 
war claim of ^1,000,000,000, but this payment was not voluntary, but made by the 
French to rid their soil of the presence of German troops. 

2 The first of these amendments had been passed by Congress in February, 
1865, and was ratified by the necessary number of three-fourths of the states by 
December of that year. The two other amendments were passed by Congress 
during Mr. Johnson's term ; the last was ratified during the next administration, 
1870. 

3 General Ulysses S. Grant of Illinois (Schuyler Colfax of Indiana, Vice-Presi- 
dent) was elected President by the Republicans in 1868, over Governor Horatio 
Seymour of New York and Francis P. Blair of Missouri, the Democratic candidates. 



COMPLETION OF THE PACIFIC RAILROAD. 333 

the last spike of a line of railroad ^ connecting the Atlantic coast 
with the Pacific was driven at Ogden, Utah (May 10, 1869). The 
blows of the sledge-hammer which drove that spike — completing 
the greatest work of the kind in the world — were telegraphed, as 
they fell, throughout the Union. 

Between Omaha and San Francisco the railroad crosses nine 
mountain ranges, including the Rockies and the Sierras, climbing, 
and then descending, over eight thousand feet. In point of time, 
it is now no farther from New York to San Francisco than it was 
in the days of the Revolution from New York to Boston. Then 
it took our forefathers between five and six days to go by wagon 
somewhat less than two hundred and fifty miles ; now, in that 
time, we can cross the entire continent. 

The result of this rapid means of travel is of the greatest im- 
portance to the republic.^ Once, members of Congress laughed 
at the idea that California and Oregon would be added to the 
United States. They said that it would be practically impossible 
for such states, if added, to send representatives to the national 
capital, because it would take them the greater part of a year to 
get to Washington and back. For that reason, they believed that 

He was re-elected in 1872 (Henry Wilson of Massachusetts, Vice-President), over 
Horace Greeley of New York and B. Gratz Brown of Missouri, the candidates of 
the Liberal Republicans and the greater part of the Democrats united. 

1 The Union Pacific Railroad, begun during the Civil War, was built westward 
from Omaha on the Missouri to Ogden, Utah, a distance of 1029 miles; there it 
met and connected with the Central Pacific Railroad, which was pushed through 
at the same time, from San Francisco, a distance of 878 miles. The total distance 
from New York to San Francisco, by this route, is 3322 miles. The Northern and 
also the Southern Pacific Railroads have since been built. 

In 1872 the Credit Mobilier, a company that had been engaged in the building 
of the first Pacific Railroad, became involved in a lawsuit in Pennsylvania. It was 
shown in the course of the suit that some members of Congress secretly held stock 
in the company, and it was supposed that the stock had been given them in order 
to secure their votes in behalf of the railway. After an investigation by a congres- 
sional committee, the House passed resolutions censuring two of its members ; the 
matter was then dropped. 

2 Before the completion of the Pacific Railroad, a pony express, followed by a 
line of stage-coaches, carried the mail across the country from St. Joseph, Missouri, 
to San Francisco. 



334 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



the people who settled the Pacific coast would form a separate 
and independent repubUc. The railroad and the telegraph have 
changed all that. They have connected the farthest extremities 
of the country so closely that they have made it possible for us 
to extend and maintain the Union from ocean to ocean. 

368. Effect of the Pacific Railroad on Commerce with 
Asia, and on the Growth of the Far West. — But this is not 
all. The building of the Pacific Railroad entirely changed our 
relations with Asia. Teas, spices, and silks formerly reached us 
from China and from the East Indies by ships sailing round Cape 
Horn. Goods might be five or six months coming that immense 




Where some of our Western Railroads go. 
Marshall Pass, Colorado. 

distance. Now, many of these goods are shipped by steamer to 
San Francisco, and thence by rail across the country to the East. 
In a little over a month from the time a cargo of tea leaves China, 
it can be delivered in New York. The old navigators spent their 
lives in trying to find a short route to Asia ; we have found it, 
though in a totally different way from what they expected. 

Last of all, and most important as well as last, the Pacific Rail- 
road, and the lines since built, have opened the rich country of 
the Far West — as the region west of the Mississippi is called. 



COMPLETION OF RECONSTRUCTION. 



335 



Steam has enabled tens of thousands of emigrants to reach that 
section easily, quickly, cheaply. The region that a generation 
ago was a wilderness given up to wild beasts and savages, is now 
rapidly filling with population. Coun- 
tries like Kansas, that were once 
treeless deserts, are to-day covered 
with orchards and with fields of 
waving grain. Denver and many 
other prosperous cities and towns in 
Colorado and neighboring states and 
territories have sprung up in places 
where, when Grant became Presi- 
dent, there were, at the most, only 
a few settlers' cabins. Thus, within 
the course of about twenty years, 
the railroads of the Far West have 
transformed that part of the repub- 
lic. They have converted what was 
then a vast extent of unoccupied 
land — often seemingly barren and 
worthless — into groups of rapidly 
growing states, rich in silver-mines, 
in cattle and sheep ranches,^ in 
farms of corn and wheat, and in 
industries of every kind. 

369. Completion of Reconstruc- 
tion ; the Chicago, Forest, and 
Boston Fires ; ** Rings '* and 
their Work. — The reconstruction 

1 Some of the cattle and sheep ranches or farms, in the Far West, embrace from 
20,000 to 30,000 acres, and have 50,000 head of cattle and sheep. There are single 
wheat-fields of 13,000 acres, and single farms which extend for miles — covered, 
as far as the eye can see, with one mass of grain rolling in golden waves. See 
Harper's Magazine, March, 1880, "Dakota Wheat-Fields," illustrated; Thayer's 
" The New West"; and Charles Dudley Warner's series of papers on the "Great 
West " in Harper's Magazine for 1888. 




Where some of our Western Railroads go. 
Animas Canyon, Colorado. 



336 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

of the Southern States was completed in 1870;^ and in January 
of the following year (1871) all the states "were represented 
in Congress for the first time since December, 1860."^ The dis- 
astrous effects of negro voting in South Carolina and some other 
states where the " freedmen " were in the majority, caused violent 
resistance ^ on the part of the white inhabitants. Congress passed 
the " Force Bill," to give military protection to the black man. 
Experience has since proved that he can protect himself best by 
advancing in education and in habits of industry. Like the white 
man, he has the liberty to make himself what he chooses. 

In the autumn of 187 1, a great fire broke out in Chicago, which 
destroyed about eighteen thousand buildings valued at two hun- 
dred million dollars. During the same season, terrible forest fires 
caused great destruction and loss of life in Michigan, Wisconsin, 
and Minnesota. The year following (1872) a conflagration con- 
sumed about eighty million dollars' worth of business property in 
Boston. 

In New York City it was discovered that " Boss " Tweed, one 
of the commissioners of public works, had been guilty, in connec- 
tion with other city officers, of a series of stupendous frauds. In 
the course of years this " ring," as it was called, had robbed the 
city of many millions, — so many in fact that it would have been 
cheaper to have had a great fire than to have kept these men in 
power. Eventually the " ring " was broken up, and Tweed died 
in Ludlow Street Jail. 

A few years later (1875) a "Whiskey Ring" was exposed in 
the West. Its purpose was to cheat the government out of a large 
part of the tax levied on whiskey. 



2 Another important work accomplished by Congress in 1870 was the establish- 
ment of the Weather Bureau. This department has its headquarters at Washing- 
ton, with branches in all the principal cities. Its object is to give information of 
approaching storms and changes of weather. It has been the means of saving the 
country from heavy losses both by land and sea. 

8 See Johnston's "American Politics." 

•* A secret society known as the A« J^/ux Klan was organized in various parts 
of the South, to prevent the negroes from voting. 



THE BUSINESS PANIC OF 1 873. 



337 



r 

370. The Business Panic of 1873 ; the Centennial Exhibi- 
tion; the Electric Light; the Telephone. — The success of the 
first Pacific Railroad encouraged the commencement of a second 
line across the continent, and also led to the building of more 
railroads at the West than the country then demanded.^ Mul- 
titudes of people put their savings into these new enterprises, 
hoping to get rich at locomotive speed. This, with other causes, 
brought on the failure of a large banking-house in Philadelphia, 
in the autumn of 1873.^ The failure was followed by a panic like 
that of 1837 and of 1857.^ In the course of a few weeks, many 
thousands of business men were ruined, and it became so difiicult 
to get money that even the national government had to stop 
making payments on the war debt for a time, and all work on 
public buildings 
came to a stand- 
still. The country 
did not fully recov- 
er from the effects 
of the panic for five 
or six years. 

A leading feature 
of the celebration 
of the anniversary 
of the One Hun- 
dredth Year of the 
Independence of 
the United States was the opening of the Centennial ^ Exhibition 
in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, in the spring of 1876. The 

1 From 1871 to the autumn of 1873 — or about two years and a half — over 
twenty thousand miles of railroad were built in the United States, at a eost of over 
a thousand millions of dollars. 

2 The banking-house of Jay Cooke & Co. They were largely interested in the 
building of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Their failure was the immediate cause 
of the panic. 3 See Paragraphs 274 and 310. 

4 Centennial : occurring once in a hundred years ; here used of the anniversary 
which the Exhibition commemorated. 




Centennial Exhibition Buildings, Philadelphia, 1876. 



338 / 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



principal buildings were immense structures of glass and iron ; 
with numerous others, they covered a total space of about seventy- 
five acres. All the nations of the world sent products of their 
industry or their art to be exhibited ; but, as in the World's Fair 
of 1853,^ our own country took the lead in the display of useful 
inventions. The Exhibition showed what a great change had taken 
place in the mode of doing most kinds of work. In Washington's 
day, and for many years later, nearly everything was done by 
hand ; but by the time we had reached our hundredth birthday 
an industrial revolution had taken place. Arms of iron and fingers 
of steel now performed the labor, and the duty of the workman 
since that period has been mainly to guide and superintend a 
machine which is his willing, tireless servant. 

Since the Exhibition, machines have multiplied with greater 
rapidity than ever. Two of the most remarkable novelties then 
exhibited were the electric hght — which has since come into 
common use — and an instrument invented by Mr. A. G. Bell of 
Washington, which we know to-day as the telephone. Professor 
Morse enabled men to send written messages to each other by 
electricity ; ^ Mr. Bell, going a step farther, enabled them to talk 
together in the same way, so that cities as far apart as Boston and 
Washington are now actually within speaking distance of each 
other.^ 



1 See Paragraph 301. 2 gee Paragraph 283. 

8 A still more recent invention is the phonograph (greatly improved in 1888), in- 
vented by Thomas A, Edison, of Menlo Park, New Jersey. This remarkable instru- 
ment records sound in such a manner that it can be exactly reproduced any length 
of time afterward. By its use the tones of the human voice may be stored up for 
the future. Thus a business man can dictate a letter to his phonograph in the 
evening and the instrument the next morning will repeat what he has said to a 
clerk or copyist, who then writes the letter with a typewriter — a machine which 
enables the user to rapidly print the words instead of writing them out with a pen. 

In a wholly different direction, that of astronomical instruments, Mr. Alvan 
Clark and his son, Alvan G. Clark, of Cambridgeport, Mass., have recently made 
great progress. Their telescopes now rank among the most perfect in the world, 
and one constructed by them in 1886 for the Lick Observatory, on Mount Hamil- 
ton, near San Francisco, is the largest instrument of the kind ever made. 



TREATY WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 339 

Since then the appUcation of electricity to the service of man 
has made very rapid progress. It is now employed to drive 
various kinds of light machinery for manufacturing, and the street- 
cars are coming to use it in place of horses. It would seem as 
though the age of steam was drawing to its close and that the 
electric age had at length fairly begun. 

371. Treaty with Great Britain ; War with the Modoc and 
the Sioux ^ Indians. — During President Grant's administration 
a treaty" was made with Great Britain (1871), one result of which 
was that England agreed to pay the United States ^15,500,000 
for damages done by the Alab&ma and other Confederate war- 
vessels built in Great Britain.^ In 181 2 such a claim on our part 
would probably have led to war between the two countries. The 
fact that it could now be peaceably settled showed what a great 
change for the better had taken place in the relations of England 
and America. 

It was unfortunate for us that we either could not or would not 
settle our disputes with the Western Indians in the same peaceable 
way. The Modocs of Southern Oregon refused to be removed 
from their hunting-grounds, and war ensued (1872). Later, the 
Sioux tribes, who had been driven from the Black Hills by gold 
seekers, made up their minds that they would not go to Indian 
Territory. General Custer, one of the bravest officers of the 
army, attacked them in their stronghold in Montana. The Ind7 
ians numbered nearly ten to his one. In a desperate fight 
Custer and his entire command of several hundred men were 
killed on the spot. But in time, both the Modocs and the Sioux 
had to yield to superior force. 

1 Sioux : pronounced Soo. 

2 The Treaty of Washington : it referred all matters about which the two coun- 
tries were in dispute to a board of arbitrators. Besides the Alabama question 
the Canadian Fisheries dispute came up for settlement under this treaty, and a 
board of arbitration decided that we should pay Great Britain ^5,500,000 for using 
the Canadian shores in carrying on our fishing. 

3 See Paragraph 326. 



340 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

372. Summary. — President Grant's administration was marked 
(i) by the completion of the first raih-oad across the continent ; (2) 
by the admission to Congress of representatives of all the seceded 
states; (3) by an important treaty with England; (4) by terrible 
fires West and East, destroying many millions of property ; (5) by 
a severe business panic; and (6) by the Centennial Exhibition 
at PMladelphia. 

Rutherford B. Haves. 

373. Hayes's Administration (Nineteenth President, One 
Term, 1877-1881) ; Withdrawal of Troops from the South; 
Railroad and Coal Strikes. — President Hayes ^ believed that 
there would never be permanent peace at the South until the 
people of that section were allowed to manage their own affairs 
without the interference of the national government. He there- 
fore withdrew the United States troops from that part of the 
country, trusting that the whites and the blacks would come to 
an understanding between themselves. From that time forward 
the "solid South" — that is, the solid white vote of the South — 
got the control, and the negro ceased to govern. It was a great 
relief to the whole country to have the strife over, and the Presi- 
dent's action, though severely condemned by many of his party, 
was heartily approved by the great mass of the people. 

In the summer (1S77), extensive railroad strikes occurred 
throughout the Northern States west of New England. Later, 

1 Rutherford B. Hayes was born in Ohio in 1822. He studied law, and settled 
in Cincinnati. During the Civil War he became a brigadier-general in the Union 
axmy. After the war he was twice elected governor of Ohio. In 1876 he was 
elected President by the Republicans (William A. Wheeler of New York, Vice- 
President) over Samuel J. Tilden of New York and Thomas A. Hendricks of 
Indiana, the Democratic candidates. Mr. Hayes had but one majority of the 
electoral votes over his opponent. The Democrats maintained that the election 
was not fairly conducted, and that many Democratic votes in the South had been 
thrown out by those whose duty it was to count them. Congress created an Elec- 
toral Commission composed of ten members of Congress and five Justices of the 
Supreme Court, to decide the matter. After investigating the facts, they decided in 
favor of Mr. Hayes by a vote of 8 to 7, and he was declaied elected. 



DEEPENING THE MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 34I 

many Pennsylvania coal-miners joined the strike. In all about 
a hundred and fifty thousand men stopped work. In Pittsburgh 
a mob of " roughs " and " tramps " took advantage of the strike 
to plunder freight-cars, and finally to set fire to the railroad 
machine-shops and other buildings, destroying nearly ^10,000,000 
of property. 

The President was finally obliged to send troops to Pittsburgh 
to prevent further destruction. 

374. Deepening the Chief Mouth of the Mississippi. — 

During President Hayes's administration, the attention of Congress 
was particularly called to the condition of the Lower Mississippi. 
That great river is constantly bringing down vast quantities of sand 
and mud, which gradually fill up the mouths of the stream.^ 

The sandbar thus formed had increased so that it finally blocked 
up the passage to such an extent that large and heavily loaded 
ships could pass over it only with the greatest difficulty. On 
one occasion over fifty vessels were seen lying north of the bar, 
waiting for an opportunity to get to sea. Sometimes they were 
delayed there for days, or weeks, even, and had at last to be at 
great expense, paying steam tug-boats to haul them through. 

Both the national government and the state of Louisiana had 
spent many millions trying to remove the obstructions, but they 
had met with only a partial degree of success. 

In 1875 Captain Eads, an engineer of St. Louis, the builder of 
the great steel arch bridge across the Mississippi at that point, 
undertook to open the mouth of the river. His plan was a most 
ingenious one. He had noticed that where the river was narrow 
the current was strong, and so deposited but Httle mud to fill up 
the channel. He said to himself, By building new banks on each 
side, near the mouth of the river, I can narrow the channel and 
increase the force of the current to such a degree that it will 
carry all the sand and mud out to sea. Then, if the bar is once 
dredged out, it will never form again. 

1 The Mississippi has three principal mouths, of which that called the " South- 
west Pass " is the most important. 



342 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY, 

Congress reluctantly gave him permission to try the experiment. 
He set to work, and in four years proved the truth of his idea. 
The Mississippi, Hke a well-behaved river, now sweeps out its own 
channel, and large ocean steamers can pass up to New Orleans, 
or out to sea, without difficulty or expense. The saving in a 
single year in this way amounts to nearly two millions of dollars. 
Captain Eads's great work has been of immense benefit, for the 
foreign commerce of New Orleans is larger by far than that of 
any other city in the ^outh.^ ^ 

375. United States Paper Money becomes as Good as 
Gold ; Effect on the National Debt. — The paper money called 
"greenbacks"^ which the government issued during the Civil 
War, and with which it paid part of its enormous expenses, 
was worth less than gold. At one time (summer of 1864), it 
was worth so much less that it took nearly three dollars in 
" greenbacks " to purchase as much as a single dollar in gold 
would do. That meant that at that time people had so little 
confidence in the power of the government to do as it agreed that 
a paper promise of payment stamped " one dollar " was worth 
only about thirty-five cents. 

But after the war the feehng changed, especially as the govern- 
ment began at once to pay off its debt.^ On this account, paper 
money rose steadily in value, until at last a " greenback " dollar 
would buy quite as much as a gold dollar. 

1 For an interesting account of Captain Eads's work, see Scribners Magazine, 
vol. xix., " The Mississippi Jetties " (illustrated). 

2 " Greenbacks " : they were so called because the backs of the bills were printed 
largely in green ink. 

3 For some time before 1877, silver dollars had not been in use in the United 
States. In 1877 Congress passed the " Bland Silver Bill," which ordered the coinage 
of large sums in silver dollars of 412I grains weight, and provided that they might 
be used in payment of debts by the government. As these dollars were worth 
then only about ninety-two cents, President Hayes vetoed the bill, on the ground 
that the government would be guilty of dishonesty and " bad faith " if it paid its 
debts in such coIh. Congress, however, passed the bill over the President's veto, 
and it became law. Notwithstanding this law, the credit of the government con- 
tinued to improve until its notes were as good as gold. 



>„ . . „,„ ,,„' 



GARFIELD S AND ARTHUR S ADMINISTRATIONS. 343 

Finally, on New Year's Day, 1879, the Treasurer of the United 
States stood ready to give gold to those who preferred it to 
" greenbacks." This had such an effect in strengthening the 
credit of the government that it was now able to borrow all the 
money it wanted to meet the debt as it fell due, at very low rates 
of interest. 

376. Summary. — The four most important events of Mr, 
Hayes's presidency were : (i) His withdrawal of troops from the 
South; (2) the great railroad and coal strikes; (3) the deepen- 
ing of the mouth of the Mississippi ; (4) the reduction of the 
expenses of the government in paying interest on its debt. 

"^ James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur. 

377. Garfield's and Arthur's Administrations (Twentieth 
and Twenty-First Presidents, One Term, 1881-1885) ; As- 
sassination of the President; Civil Service Reform. — In 

the summer following his inauguration, President Garfield^ was 
shot by a disappointed office-seeker named Guiteau." He died 
in the autumn from the effects of the wound, and Vice-President 
Arthur became President. 

The murder of Garfield led to an attempt on the part of Con- 
gress to relieve the President from the necessity of appointing 

1 James A. Garfield was born in Ohio in 1831 ; died, 1881. His early life, like 
that of Abraham Lincoln, was passed in hardship and poverty, in a part of the 
country then called the " Wilderness." 

Like Lincoln, he rose above all difficulties, and made his own way by the force 
and integrity of his character. By dint of hard work, he fitted himself for college, 
and graduated at Williams College, Massachusetts, with distinction. When the 
war broke out, he entered the Union army, and was promoted, for his services at 
the battle of Chickamauga, to the rank of major-general. In December, 1863, he 
was elected to Congress, and later, became United States Senator. 

In 1880 he was elected President (Chester A. Arthur of New York, Vice-Presi- 
dent) over General W. S. Hancock of Pennsylvania and William H. English of 
Indiana, the Democratic candidates. President Garfield was shot by Charles J. 
Guiteau, July 2, 1881. He died September 19. Vice-President Arthur then became 
President. 2 Guiteau was convicted of the murder, and hanged. 



344 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

thousands ^ of persons to government offices merely as a reward 
for their having worked, or spent money, to get him elected. 

A law called the Civil Service Act was passed (1883) which 
gave the President power to appoint commissioners to examine 
all persons applying for the lower grade of offices, and to recom- 
mend such as they thought showed themselves best fitted to do 
the work. Out of the list they furnish, the President can then 
make his selection. 

This method, which has received the name of Civil Service 
Reform,^ takes off of the President's hands (if he sees fit to 
use it) a vast amount of very laborious work. It also saves his 
time, and spares him the vexation of having to listen to that class 
— found even among office-seekers — who cry night and day, like 
the beggars of Italy, *' Give ! " " Give ! " 

President Arthur gladly appointed the Civil Service Commis- 
sioners ; and it is hoped that in time all appointments to the lower 
class of government offices will be made by examination — thus 
giving an equal chance to all. 

378. Overflow of the Mississippi ; the East River Sus- 
pension Bridge ; Cheap Postage. — In the spring of 1882 the 
Mississippi overflowed its banks in Louisiana, tearing up and 
washing away railroads and farm-houses, and doing immense 
damage to cotton and sugar plantations. Over a hundred thou- 
sand persons were made homeless ; and if Congress had not sent 
cargoes of food to their relief, great numbers of destitute people 
would have died from starvation. The abundant aid given showed 
that the wealth of the country had now become so great that it 

1 In 1881 there were 3400 government clerks and other persons employed in the 
Treasury Department at Washington. The whole number of government ofifices 
(including post-offices) was then estimated at about 140,000. This number is, of 
course, constantly increasing. The Civil Service Reform aims to fill the greater part 
of these offices by competitive examination, and to make their tenure permanent 
during good behavior, unless some good reason arises for demanding a change. 

2 Civil service : all persons in the employ of the government outside of the army 
and navy (that is, outside qf military service) are said to be in the civil service. 

The necessity for civil service reform has already been considered in Paragraphs 
260 and 261. 



THE EAST RIVER SUSPENSION BRIDGE. 



345 



was easy for the nation to help any section of the repubHc that 
should really require it. 

An illustration of our steadily growing prosperity and enterprise 
was given during the spring of 1883 in the completion of the great 
East River Suspension Bridge, connecting New York City with 
Brooklyn. This bridge was built at a cost of nearly fifteen million 
dollars — an amount double that of the entire annual cost of carry- 
ing on the government of the United States in the first years of 
Washington's presidency. It took fourteen years to finish the 




The East River Suspension Bridge. 

structure, which has a total length of over a mile. The roadway 
is suspended by four steel-wire cables, each more than a foot in 
diameter, stretched from towers nearly three hundred feet in height. 
The bridge is divided into five avenues, — one for foot-passengers, 
two for carriages and wagons, and two for cable-cars. Taken as 
a whole, this bridge — a monument of American engineering skill 
— is the grandest work of the kind in the world.^ 

1 The East River Suspension Bridge was begun by John A. Roebling (pro- 
nounced Ro'bling) of Trenton, New Jersey, the inventor of wire suspension 



34^ LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Still another evidence of the prosperity of the country was the 
reduction of postage (1883) on letters, weighing not more than 
half an ounce, from three cents to two. Later (1885), the weight 
of a letter which might be sent at this low rate was increased to 
a full ounce. This gives us the cheapest postage in the world for 
the distance covered by it ; since for two cents we can now send 
a bulky letter from Eastport, Maine, to San Francisco, — about 
thirty-five hundred miles, — a distance greater than that from 
New York to London. 

379. The New Orleans Cotton Centennial Exhibition ; the 
**New South.'* — In 1784, eight bags of cotton were exported 
from Charleston, South Carolina, to England.* It was the first 
shipment of the kind ever made from the United States. In time, 
this country came to supply nearly all the cotton used in Great 
Britain and Europe, and the value of the crop grew to be so great 
that it was a common saying at the South, " Cotton is king." ^ 

In the winter of 1884, an exhibition^ was opened at New 
Orleans — the largest cotton market in America — to mark the 

bridges, the builder of the famous railroad suspension bridge at Niagara, and of 
the great suspension bridge across the Ohio at Cincinnati. Mr. Roebling only 
lived to complete the plan of the East River Bridge, He was succeeded by his 
son, W. A. Roebling, who took up the work and finished it. 

1 See Paragraph 205. Some accounts state that the first shipment was " six 
bags, amounting to about one bale." This seems to be a mistake. See the history 
of cotton exportation from Charleston in " The Charleston Year-Book " for 1883 
and compare the " Year-Book " for 1880. 

2 Samuel Slater, who came to this country from England in 1789, was the first 
person to establish the manufacture of cotton in the United States. Moses Brown, 
a Rhode Island Quaker, wrote to him : " If thou canst do this thing [set up a 
cotton-mill], I invite thee to come to Rhode Island, and have the credit of intro- 
ducing cotton manufacture into America." 

Mr. Slater was just the man who could " do this thing" ; and, trusting wholly to 
his memory to construct the complicated machinery required, he started a mill at 
Pawtucket in 1790, which proved an entire success, 

Francis C. Lowell of Newburyport, Massachusetts, following Mr. Slater's exam- 
ple, set up the manufacture of cotton in Massachusetts, and the great manufacturing 
city of Lowell was named in his honor. 

8 The full title of the exhibition was " The World's Industrial and Cotton Cen- 
tennial Exposition." The buiMings covered more than seventy-five acres, and the 



THE " FREEDMEN. 34/ 

hundredth anniversary which had elapsed since the first export 
of that product, of which the " Crescent City " alone now ships 
nearly two millions of bales. ^ 

The real importance of that Centennial Exhibition did wot, 
however, depend on its display of any one production, but in the 
fact that it proved that the South had entirely changed, — that it 
had in fact become absolutely a " New South." 

380. The Progress made by New Orleans an Illustration 
of what the **New South** is doing. — Take New Orleans 
itself as an illustration. Before the war, it had but a single im- 
portant line "" of railroad entering the city ; now it has six trunk- 
lines.^ 

Before the war, it was almost wholly a commercial city, and 
its manufactures practically counted for nothing. To-day, its 
commerce is larger than ever/ and its manufactures are rapidly 
increasing ; it now makes great quantities of goods which it for- 
merly bought. In i860, the money invested in its machine-shops, 
mills, and workshops was so small that it was not reported ; at the 
present time, it is probably close upon twenty-five million dollars, 
and the yearly wages it pays to its workmen amount to about 
nine million dollars. 

381. The South no longer a Purely Agricultural Country ; 
its Manufactures ; its Prosperity ; the ** Freedmen ** ; Edu- 
cation. — The change that has taken place in New Orleans shows 
us what has been going on throughout the South. When the war 
broke out, it was almost purely an agricultural country ; now, 
within the past four years alone, fourteen thousand new manu- 

main building was the largest of the kind ever erected in t^e world. Important 
cotton exhibitions had been held in Atlanta in 1881, and at Louisville in 1883 ; but 
they did not compare in magnitude with this at New Orleans. 

1 The bale varies in weight, but is usually estimated at about four hundred 
pounds. 

2 See Scribner's " Statistical Atlas of the United States." 

8 Trunk-lines of railroad : main lines, connecting large and important cities. 
* Much of this increased ocean oonwnerce is due to Captain £ads. See Para- 
graph 374- 



34^ LEADING "FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

facturing and mining enterprises ^ have been started, and many 
thousands of miles of railroad have been built. Such cities as 
Chattanooga (Tennessee), Augusta and Atlanta (Georgia), and 
Birmingham (Alabama) are ''hives of industry." Their cotton-mills, 
iron-mills, and other important works are fast rivalling anything in 
the North or West; and they possess the advantage of having their 
supplies of raw material — their cotton, iron, lumber — at the very 
doors of their factories and mills ; with unlimited quantities of 
coal for fuel, and, in some cases, immense water-power* besides. 

But this is not aU. A new spirit shows itself in the South. Free 
labor is accomplishing double what slave labor did. In iS6o, the 
South produced less than four million bales of cotton; now it 
prodnces eight millions : the white man does about half the work.; 
the black man, the other half. The " freedmen " share in this 
prosperity; and the men who, when the war broke out, could not 
call even themselves their own, are to-day taxed for over a hun- 
dred million dollars' worth of property, which they have fairly 
made and just as fairly enjoy. 

In education the progress has been equally great.- Common 
schools have multiplied all through the South, — they are free to 
black and white alike, though the schools are separate,^ — and the 
negro has not only many thousand teachers of his own race, but 
great numbers of white teacli^rs besides. 

1 Among these new enterprises none is more remarkable tlian that of the pro- 
duction of cotton-seed oil. Before the war the seed was thrown away or burned as 
useless. Now nearly ^50,000,000 are invested in its production. The oil is used as 
a substitute for olive-oil for making a superior soap, and for many other purposes. 

2 In 1882, Paul Tulane, ol Princeton, New Jersey, but for more than half a 
century a resident of New Orleans, left over ^1,000,000 to found a university for the 
education of white youth in that city. VanderbJlt University of Nashville, Tennessee, 
is another example of the same kind. 

In 1866, George Peabody of Danvers, Massachusetts (the London banker), 
gave a sum of money, which he later increased to $3,500,000, for the promotion of 
education at the South. In 1882, John F. Slater of Norwich, Connecticut, gave 
j^i.ooo.ooo for the education of the " freedman " at the South. To-day the Southern 
States are spending very large sums on common and high-school education, 

2 The common schools for the blacks and the whites throughout the South, says 
the late Mr. Gradl^, " are separate, without exception." See " In Plain Black and 
White," Century^ April, 1885. 

* Augusta, Spartanburg and Columbus have great water-power. 



CLEVELAND'S ADMINISTRATION. 349 

Horace Greeley used to give this advice to the young men of 
his acquaintance who wanted to get a start in life : " Young man, 
go West." To-day we might change this advice a little, and say. 
Young man, go West, or South. 

382. Summary. — The principal events of the Garfield and 
the Arthur administrations were the assassination of President Gar- 
field, followed by Vice-President Arthur's succession, and by an 
act of Congress providing for civil service reform. 

During Arthur's presidency, great destruction of property was 
caused by the overflow of the Mississippi ; but the general pros- 
perity of the country was shown by the completion of the East 
River Suspension Bridge, by the reduction in the rate of letter 
postage, and by the immense growth and prosperity of the " New 
South." 

Grover Cleveland. 

383. Cleveland's Administration (Twenty-Second Presi- 
dent, One Term, 1885-1889) ; Progress made in Civil 
Service Reform. — The Republican party had held control of 
the government ever since the first election of Abraham Lincoln ; 
Grover Cleveland^ was the first Democratic President that had 
been inaugurated for over a quarter of a century.^ 

Among the important matters to which President Cleveland gave 
special attention was the reform of the Civil Service,^ which had 
been imdertaken under President Arthur. The success of such a 



1 Grover Cleveland was born in Caldwell, New Jersey, in 1837. His father soon 
after moved to New York State, and his son began the study of law in Buffalo, at 
the age of eighteen. In 1881, he was elected mayor of that city, and the year 
following, he became governor of New York. In 1884, Mr. Cleveland was elected 
President (Thomas A. Hendricks of Indiana, Vice-President) by the Democrats, 
over James G. Blaine of Maine and John A. Logan of Illinois, the Republican 
candidates. Many " Indep'ri'iident Republicans," or " Mugwumps," as they were 
called, voted for Mr. Cleveland. 

2 James Buchanan, the last Democratic President before Cleveland, was elected 
in 1857, just twenty-eight years before. 

3 See Paragraph 377. 



350 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

movement — earnestly advocated by the best men of all parties — 
mujt depend on the whole people. When the vast good which this 
measure promises is clearly seen, no one can doubt that the nation 
will thoroughly work out this reform as it has so many others.^ 

384. The *< Knights of Labor »'; the <<Black-List »' and 
the ** Boycott.*^ — For a number of years, a large part of the 
laboring-men of the country had been members of a society or 
union known as "The Knights of Labor." ^ The purpose of the 
society was to secure for its members the power of united action 
in all matters that concerned their interest. 

In this, as in every country, there had been at times serious 
disputes between employers and workmen ; o-ne object of the 
" Knights of Labor " was to get such disputes settled in a way 
satisfactory to both parties. Where this could not be done, the 
labor-union might order its members to quit work until they 
either got the terms they asked, or were compelled to accept 
those offered by the employers. In some instances, when the 
union men struck, they refused to allow men who were not 
" Knights of Labor " to take their places, and used force to pre- 
vent them. 

The employers, on the other hand, formed combinations, or 
unions, to protect their own interests. In some cases they kept 
a " black-list" on which were recorded the names of those laboring- 
men who were thought to be unreasonable in their demands for 
higher pay or shorter hours, or whose influence over the other 
men was believed to be injurious. Such men often found it 
impossible to get work. 



1 The first movement toward Civil Service Reform was made in 1853, but noth- 
ing was accomplished. Presidents Grant and Hayes next took it up ; since, the 
progress made by the Civil Service Commissioners is seen in the fact that during 
the year 1885 they held one hundred and fifty examinations of applicants for gov- 
ernment positians in seventeen different states. The whole number examined was 
7602 ; of these, 1876 received appointments from the government. 

2 Originally organized in 1869. Since then another organization has been formed, 
called the " American Federation of Labor." 



THE YEAR OF STRIKES. 35 I 

The " Knights," however, were not without their weapon. They 
could refuse to have any deaUngs with an employer who used the 
" black-list " ; and furthermore, they could, and did, use their 
influence to prevent others from having any dealings with him. 
This was called "boycotting."^ It is difficult to say whether 
the "black-Hst" or the "boycott" came first; but in President 
Cleveland's administration both were extensively used, and both 
caused immense loss without apparently gaining any very decided 
advantage for either side. 

385. The Year of Strikes; the Chicago Anarchists. — 

The year 1886 may almost be called the year of labor strikes. 
They began very early in the spring, with the horse-car drivers 
and conductors in New York ; and they gradually extended, in 
one form or another, to points as far west as Nebraska, and as far 
south as New Orleans.^ 

In many cases, the strikers demanded that the working-day be 
shortened to eight hours ; in other cases, they asked an increase 
of wages. In Chicago, forty thousand men left their employments, 
and the greater part of the factories and workshops of the city 
were closed. Processions of strikers, ten thousand strong, marched 
through the streets, — in some cases, with all the precision of move- 
ment of a body of highly drilled troops. Soon the men engaged 
in handling freight at the different railroad freight-houses in the 
city joined their fellow-workmen, and all movement or delivery 
of goods came to a stop. On the day following, there was some 
rioting. On the evening of the next day (May 4, 1886), six or 
seven hundred persons gathered in the neighborhood of Hay- 
market Square, and were addressed by different speakers, one of 
whom — an Englishman — urged the most violent measures. A 

1 The word " boycott " came from Captain Boycott, the name of an English 
farmer and land agent in Ireland. In 1880 he became so much disliked that the 
people of the district where he lived refused to work for, buy from, sell to, or have 
any dealings whatever with him. 

2 See Appleton's " Annual Cyclopaedia," 1887, " Strikes " • and " Massachusetts 
Labor Bureau Report," 1887. 



352 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

large force of police was on the ground ; believing that the meet- 
ing was likely to end in a serious riot, they ordered the crowd 
to disperse. At that moment, some one threw a dynamite bomb* 
at the police. It exploded with terrible force, severely wounding 
many of the officers, and killing several.^ Persons in the crowd 
then drew revolvers, and fired on the police. The officers charged 
on the crowd, firing rapidly, and killing and wounding a large 
number. The ringleaders of the mob were arrested, and brought 
to trial. All but one were of foreign birth. They belonged to a 
small but dangerous class calling themselves Anarchists.^ The 
object of the Anarchist is to overthrow all forms of government, 
either by peaceable means, or — as in the case of the men arrested 
at Chicago — by murder, and the destruction of property. The 
workingmen of Chicago, and throughout the country, expressed 
their horror of such methods, and denounced the Anarchists as 
enemies of the interests of labor, and of society. Four were 
hanged. 

386. The Charleston Earthquake; the Western << Bliz- 
zards.'* — Late in the summer of 1886, a very destructive earth- 
quake occurred -at Charleston, South Carolina. The city had suf- 
fered, the year before, from one of a series of hurricanes which 
had destroyed a large amount of property at the West and South ; 
but the earthquake was far more terrible in its effects. Quite a 
number of lives were lost, and so many buildings shaken down, or 
badly damaged by repeated shocks, that it seemed at one time 
as* if the entire city would be reduced to ruins. The total loss 
reached over five million dollars. Aid was promptly despatched 
from every part of the Union to the suffering people of the stricken 
city, which has since bravely recovered from its heavy calamity. 

1 These bombs were made of pieces of gas-pipe filled with dynamite, — a sub- 
stance which explodes with much greater force than gunpowder. 

2 Sixty of the police were badly wounded, and seven were either killed on the 
spot, or died in consequence of the injuries they had received. 

8 Anarchists (An'ar-kists) : the name comes from two Greek words meaning 
without a ruler or government ; hence, in ordinary use, those who seek to overthrow 
all government. 



THE STATUE OF LIBERTY. 



353 



A year from the winter following this disaster (1888), frightful 
storms of snow accompanied by intense cold (known by the ex- 
pressive name of " blizzards ") 
swept over portions of the North- 
west/ destroying many lives, — 
especially those of school-chil- 
dren, who lost their way in the 
blinding tempests, and were 
frozen to death. 

387. The Statue of Liberty, 

— Meanwhile, in the autumn of 
1886, the colossal statue^ of " Lib- 
erty enlightening the World " was 
unveiled and lighted in the har- 
bor of New York. The statue 

— the largest of the kind ever 
made — was presented to the 
United States by a great number 
of citizens of the Republic of 
France, as a memorial of their 
friendly feeling toward the peo- 
ple of this country, and as an 
expression of their confidence in 
the stability of the American 
government. 

The statue is of bronze, and 
represents the goddess, or genius, 
of Liberty holding high upraised 
in one hand a lighted torch, to show the way to those who are 

1 Particularly in Nebraska, the Dakotas, and Minnesota. 

2 The statue is a little over a hundred and fifty feet in height. The top of the 
torch is rather more than three huodred feet above the water. The expense of the 
statue was paid by subscriptions raised in France, and the work was done by 
the French sculptor, Bartholdi, at a cost of over two hundred thousand dollars. The 
government of the United States set apart Bedloe's Island, in New York Harbor, 
for the statue ; and three hundred thousand dollars were raised in this country to 
build the foundation and pedestal on which it stands. 




The Statue of Liberty. 



354 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

seeking the shores of the New World. The figure is of great 
beauty ; and at night the torch serves the purpose of a guiding 
light to all incoming vessels. 

388. Four Important Laws (the Presidency; the Presi- 
dential Elections; Interstate Railroads; Chinese Immi- 
grants). — During President Cleveland's administration, four very 
important laws were passed by Congress. The first (1886) pro- 
vided, in case of the death or disability of both the President and 
the Vice-President, that the Secretary of State (followed, if neces- 
sary, by the other members of the Cabinet)^ should succeed to 
the office of President. 

The second law (1887) laid down certain rules for counting the 
electoral votes, in order that all uncertainty and dispute in regard 
to the election of the President might be avoided. 

The third law (1887) — the Interstate^ Commerce Act — was 
for the purpose of regulating the charges made by all railroads 
which pass through more than one state, the object being to secure 
fair and uniform rates both for passengers and freight. 

The fourth law (1888) forbade any Chinese laborer to land on 
our shores. The reason for this measure was that upwards of a 
hundred thousand Chinamen had emigrated to the United States, 
— most of whom remained in California, — and their cheap labor 
was believed to be hurtful, rather than helpful, to the country. 

Other immigrants,^ it was said, come here to make the United 
States their permanent home ; but the Chinaman comes simply to 
get what he can out of the country ; he then leaves it forever. 
He can live on a few cents' worth of rice a day, he has no family 
to support, and so he can afford to work for wages on which an 

1 The Cabinet now consists of the following officers : i. The Secretary of State ; 
2. The Secretary of the Treasury ; 3. The Secretary of War ; 4. The Secretary of the 
Navy; 5. The Secretary of the Interior; 6. The Attorney-General; 7. The Post- 
master-General ; 8. The Secretary of Agriculture. 2 Interstate : between states. 

3 Immigrants: foreigners coming into the United States to seek work or homes 
are now generally called immigrants. Before the Chinese Law, an effort was made 
to exclude paupers, and later, to exclude laborers hired to come to this country by 
American employers to compete against our own workmen. 



HARRISON'S ADMINISTRATION. 355 

ordinary laborer would starve. On this account, Congress con- 
sidered itself justified in shutting out such a class from a land 
whose doors have hitherto stood wide open to all the world.^ 

389. Summary. — The principal events of President Cleve- 
land's administration were : (i) The widely extend£.d labor strikes ; 
(2) the Anarchist riot in Chicago; (3) the Charleston earth- 
quake ; (4) the passage of four important laws relating to the 
succession and the election of the President, Interstate Commerce, 
and Chinese Immigration. 

Benjamin Harrison. 

390. Harrison's Administration (Twenty-Third Presi- 
dent, 1889-1893) ; Opening of Oklahoma ; how Cities spring 
up in the Far West. --- In the centre of Indian Territory there 
was a large district (now a territory) called, in the Indian lan- 
guage, Oklahoma,^ or the " Beautiful Land." This tract was finally 
purchased from the Indians by the United States early in 1889. 

On the 2 2d of April, of that year, some fifty thousand persons 
were waiting impatiently on the borders of Oklahoma for Presi- 
dent Harrison's^ signal, giving them permission^ to enter and 

1 As a matter of fact, the law has thus far accomplished less than was expected ; 
since Chinamen come over in large numbers to British America, and then quietly 
cross the line into the United States. 2 See map of the United States, page 356. 

3 Benjamin Harrison was born at North Bend, Ohio, in 1833. He is a grand- 
son of President W. H. Harrison (see Paragraph 281), and his great-grandfather, 
Benjamin Harrison, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. 
Mr. Harrison studied law, and opened an office at Indianapolis. In 1862 he entered 
the Union army as a second lieutenant of Indiana volunteers. Later, he was com- 
missioned colonel of the Seventieth Indiana Ragiment, Near the close of the war 
he received the title of brigadier-general of volunteers. In 1880 he was elected 
United States Senator. In 1888 he was elected President by the Republicans 
(Levi P. Morton of New York, Vice-President) over Grover Cleveland of New 
York, and Allen G. Thurman of Ohio, the Democratic candidates. 

The chief political issue in the election was the question whether the United 
States should adopt the Democratic policy of a reduction oi tariff, or that of Pro- 
tection advocated by the Republicans. 

4 President Harrison's proclamation declared that no one who entered and 
occupied lands in Oklahoma before twelve o'clock, noon, of April 22, 1889, should 



356 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

take up lands in the coveted region. At precisely twelve o'clock, 
noon, of that day, the blast of a bugle announced that Oklahoma 
was open to settlement. Instantly an avalanche of human beings 
rushed wildly across the line, each one eager to get the first chance. 
Towns made of rough board-shanties and of tents sprang up in all 
directions. The chief of these were Oklahoma City and Guthrie. 
At the end of four months, the latter had a population of about 
five thousand, with four daily papers and six banks ; and arrange- 
ments, doubtless since completed, were being made to start a 
line of street cars, and light the city with electricity. 

391. The Celebration of the Washington Centennial; the 
Johnstown Disaster. — A week after the opening of Oklahoma, 
the centennial anniversary of the inauguration of Washington,^ and 
of the beginning of our government under the Constitution,^ was 
celebrated in New York City. The celebration * began with a 
naval review, followed by a military review by President Harrison ; 
and closed, on the third day, with a grand procession of all the 
trades and industries of the chief city of America. 

In a little less than a month from that occasion, the most terrible 
disaster of the kind ever known in our history occurred (May 
31, 1889) in Western Pennsylvania. By the breaking of a dam, 
a body of water forty feet high and nearly half a mile in width 
swept down through a deep and narrow valley. In less than fif- 
teen minutes, the flood had traversed a distance of eighteen 
miles. In that brief time, it dashed seven towns out of existence, 
and ended by carrying away the greater part of Johnstown. The 
whole valley at that place was choked with ruins ; at least five 



be permitted to acquire rights to lands there by such entrance and occupation. 
This was what kept the " boomers," as they were called, back. 

1 See Paragraphs 196 and 199. * April 29 to May i, 1889. 

2 The centennial celebration of the framing of the Constitution by the Constitu- 
tional Convention, in 1787, was held at Philadelphia, September 15-17, 1887. 

In 1888, Ohio celebrated the hundredth year of the first settlements made at 
Marietta, Cincinnati, and other points; and a grand exhibition — open for four 
mopths — was held at Cincinnati, to show the results of the century's progress. 




ALASKA 



I 




THE 



Cape 



Sable^ 



■g.e1 



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UNITED STATES ^^ ^^ ^ i n i> x 



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(367) 



OUR NEW SHIPS OF WAR. 35/ 

thousand persons lost their Hves, and property worth ten million 
dollars was utterly destroyed. 

392. The Congress of the Three Americas; the Admis- 
sion of Six New States ; Our New Ships of War. — In the 

autumn (October 2, 1889), representatives of the leading govern- 
ments of Central and of South America, together with the Repub- 
lic of Mexico, met representatives chosen by the United States in 
a conference or congress held at Washington.^ The object of the 
congress was to bring about a closer union of the Americas, 
for purposes of trade, and of mutual advantage. The delegates 
spent six weeks in visiting the principal commercial and manu- 
facturing cities of the United States. They then returned to 
Washington, and devoted the greater part of the remainder of 
the year and part of 1890 to the discussion of business. 

Early in November (1889), the President, by proclamation, 
admitted the four new states of Montana, Washington, North 
Dakota, and South Dakota^ to the Union. Their representa- 
tives met with the next national Congress in December. The 
addition of these states made the whole number in the Union 
forty-two. 

These forty-two states desired to be properly represented on 
the ocean. Many of the vessels comprised in the United States 
navy were simply old, worn-out wooden ships, utterly unworthy of 
the country. Congress resolved to replace them with a number 
of first-class steel vessels. The work was pushed through with 
great energy, and in November (1889), a squadron of magnifi- 
cent war-steamers was formed, composed of the Chicago, Atlanta, 
Boston, and Yorktown. Under the new United States flag, with 

1 The following countries were represented at the conference, popularly called 
the " Pan-American Congress " (from Pan, a Greek word, meaning c//) : i. Hayti ; 
2. Nicaragua; 3. Peru; 4. Guatemala; 5. Uruguay; 6. Colombia; 7. Argentine 
Republic; 8. Costa Rica; 9. Paraguay; 10. Brazil; 11. Honduras; 12. Mexico; 
13, Bolivia; 14. Venezuela; 15. Chili; 16. Salvador; 17, Ecuador; 18. the United 
States. The total number of representatives was sixty-six, 

* The Act of Congress providing for their admission was passed under President 
Cleveland (1888K 



358 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



its forty-two stars, they are now (1890) on a foreign cruise; by 
the time they return, the admission of the two new states of Idaho 
and Wyoming (July, 1890), making a total of forty-four, will still 
further increase the stars on the banner of the republic. It is 




The Flag-Ship "Chicago." 
(One of the leading ships of our new navy.) 

especially worthy of notice that the state of Wyoming is the first 
one ever admitted to the Union, since the adoption of the Consti- 
tution, in which women may vote^ and hold office the same as men. 

1 Women voted in New Jersey from 1800 to 1807. Since 1869 they have voted 
at all elections in Wyoming. A law granting them similar power in Washington 



GENERAL SUMMARY. 359 

393. General Summary. — We have traced the progress of 
this country from its earHest period to the present time. We have 
seen it grow from a few feeble colonies gathered on the edge of 
the Atlantic to a group of thirteen independent states. We have 
followed the development of those states into a great, prosperous, 
and powerful nation of over sixty millions of people, extending 
across the continent from ocean to ocean. The American Repub- 
lic now embraces the largest portion of the earth's surface ^ con- 
trolled by any one government on any one grand division of the 
globe, with the single exception of Russia in Asia.^ 

Here every advantage is open. Education is absolutely free ; 
millions of acres of Western land are free. Here, and here only, 
among the leading civilized nations, no immense standing-army 
eats up the daily earnings of the people. Here every law springs 
directly from the will of the majority. 

These facts prove the truth of the motto chosen for this book. 
They show that America means Opportunity. In closing this 
brief history can we do better than ask, each one of himself. 
What use do I intend to make of this opportunity ? The whole 
future of the republic, for good or ill, for growth or decay, for 
glory or shame, depends on the way in which we individually 
answer that question. . 

(then a territory) was declared unconstitutional by the territorial Supreme Court. 
In Utah such a law was repealed by Congress. Partial woman suffrage (especially 
the power to vote on questions relating to schools) now exists in a majority of 
the states. In 1893 the people of Colorado voted an Amendment to the State Con- 
stitution by which suffrage was granted to women on the same conditions as to men. 

1 Nearly 3,600,000 square miles. See Table of States, page xxii. 

2 The Chinese Empire is not excepted, because, in the first place, authorities 
differ very widely as to its area (the Encyclopaedia Britannica estimating it at only 
about 3,000,000 of square miles) ; and next, for the reason that Warren and others 
state that a large part of the country is only " nominally " subject to the emperor. 

NOTE : For a chronological sununary of RECENT EVENTS see (Principal Dates) 
pages xxxi and xxxii of Appendix. 



I 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

In Congress, July 4, 1776. 

A DECLARATION BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED 
STATES OF AMERICA, IN CONGRESS 1 ASSEMBLED. 

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to 
dissolve the poUtical bands which have connected them with another, and to 
assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the 
laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of 
mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the 
separation. 

^ The First Continental or General Congress met in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, Sep- 
tember 5, i774> It consisted of forty-four delegates, representing eleven of the thirteen 
colonies. Later, eleven more delegates took their seats, and all of the colonies were repre- 
sented except Georgia, which promised to concur with " her sister colonies " in their effort to 
maintain their rights as English subjects. Peyton Randolph of Virginia was elected Presi- 
dent of the Congress. Among the distinguished men who had assembled there, were Washing- 
ton, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, John Dickinson, William Livingston, John Jay, 
John Adams, Samuel Adams, Roger Sherman, and the Rutledges of South Carolina. 

On the 14th of October, the Congress adopted a Declaration of Colonial Rights. On the 
26th, a Petition to the King, asking the redress of their wrongs, was drawn up. 

The Second Continental Congress (at which Georgia was represented), met in Philadelphia, 
in the State House (Independence Hall), May lo, 1775. A second Petition to the King -was 
adopted, and Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental army, though 
Congress still denied any intention of separating from Great Britain, and earnestly expressed 
a desire for the peaceful settlement of all difficulties. 

The King's Proclamation, declaring the Colonies in rebellion, and calling for volunteers to 
force them to submit to taxation without representation, and other unjust measures, finally 
convinced the delegates to Congress of the impossibility of our continuing our allegiance to the 
English crown. 

On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia moved "That these United Colonies 
are, and of right ougVt to be, free and independent states." John Adams of Massachusetts 
seconded the motion. 

Later, a committee of five — Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, 
Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, and Robert R. Living- 
ston of New York — was appointed to draft the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson 
drew up the paper, though a few alterations were made in it by the committee and by 
Congress. 

It was adopted on the evening of July 4, 1776, and signed by John Hancock, President of 
Congress, and Charles Thomson, Secretary. On August 2, 1776, it was signed by the mem- 
bers, representing all the thirteen states. 



11 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident : — That all men are created equal ; that 
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights ; that among 
these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, 
governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent 
of the governed; that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of 
these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a 
new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its 
powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and 
happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate, that governments long established 
should not be changed for light and transient causes ; and accordingly all experi- 
ence hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer while evils are suffer- 
able, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accus- 
tomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the 
same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their 
right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for 
their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies ; and 
such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems 
of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of 
repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of 
an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a 
candid world. 

He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the 
public good. 

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing impor- 
tance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained ; and 
when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. 

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of 
people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legis- 
lature — a right inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants only. 

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and 
distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing 
them into compliance with his measure. 

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing, with manly 
firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people. 

He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause others to be 
elected, whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to 
the people at large for their exercise ; the State remaining, in the mean time, ex- 
posed to all the dangers of invasions from without, and convulsions within. 

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States ; for that purpose 
obstructing the laws for the naturalization of foreigners ; refusing to pass others to 
encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations 
of lands. 

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws 
for establishing judiciary powers. 

He has made judges dependent on His will alone for the tenure of their offices, 
and the amount and payment of their salaries. 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. Ill 

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to 
harass our people and eat out their substance. 

He has kept among us in times of peace, standing armies, without the consent 
of our legislatures. 

He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior to, the civil 
power. 

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our con- 
stitutions, and unacknowledged by our laws ; giving his assent to their acts of pre- 
tended legislation : 

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us ; 

For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders which 
they should commit on the inhabitants of these States; 

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world ; 

For imposing taxes on us without our consent ; 

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury ; 

For transporting us beyond seas, to be tried for pretended offences ; 

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, estab- 
lishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries, so as to 
render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute 
rule into these colonies ; 

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering, 
fundamentally, the forms of our governments ; 

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with 
power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection, and 
waging war against us. 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and de- 
stroyed the lives of our people. 

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete 
the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of 
cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally un- 
worthy the head of a civilized nation. 

He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to bear 
arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and breth- 
ren, or to fall themselves by their hands. 

He has excited domestic insurrection among us, and has endeavored to bring 
on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule 
of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions. 

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most 
humble terms ; our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. 
A prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is 
unfit to be the ruler of a free people. 

Nor have we been wanting in our attentions to our British brethren. We have 
warned them, from time to time, of attempts by their legislature to extend an un- 
warrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances 
of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice 



IV 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



and magnanimity; and we have conjured them, by the ties of our common kin- 
dred, to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connec- 
tions and correspondence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and 
consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces 
our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in 
peace friends. 

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General 
Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the recti- 
tude of our intentions, do, in the name and by the authority of the good people of 
these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and 
of right ought to be, free and independent states; that they are absolved from all 
alliance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and 
the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved ; and that, as free 
and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract 
alliances, establish commerce, and do all other acts and things which independent 
states may of right do. And, for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance 
on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our 
lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. 

The foregoing Declaration was, by order of Congress, engrossed, and signed by 
the following members : — 

JOHN HANCOCK. 



N^W HAMPSHIRE. 

JOSIAH BaRTLETT, 

William Whipple, 
Matthew Thornton. 

MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 

Samuel Adams, 
John Adams, 
Robert Treat Paine, 
Elbridge Gerry. 

RHODE ISLAND. 

Stephen Hopkins, 
William Ellerv. 

CONNECTICUT. 

Roger Sherman, 
Samuel Huntington, 
William Williams, 
Oliver Wolcott. 

NEW YORK. 

William Floyd, 
Philip Livingston, 
Francis Lewis, 
Lewis Morris. 



NEW JERSEY. 

Richard Stockton, 
John Witherspoon, 
Francis Hopkinson, 
John Hart, 
Abraham Clark. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

Robert Morris, 
Benjamin Rush, 
Benjamin Franklin, 
John Morton, 
George Clymer, 
James Smith, 
George Taylor, 
James Wilson, 
George Ross. 

DELAWARE. 

C^SAR Rodney, 
George Read, 
Thomas M'Kean. 

MARYLAND. 

Samuel Chase, 
William Paca, 
Thomas Stone, 



Charles Carroll, of Car- 
rollton. 

VIRGINIA. 

George Wythe, 
Richard Henry Lee, 
Thomas Jefferson, 
Benjamin Harrison, 
Thomas Nelson, Jr., 
Fransis Lightfoot Lee, 
Carter Braxton. 

NORTH CAROLINA. 

William Hooper, 
Joseph Hewes, 
John Penn. 

SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Edward Rutledge, 
Thomas Hayward, Jr., 
Thomas Lynch, Jr., 
Arthur Middleton. 

GEORGIA. 

Button Gwinnett, 
Lyman Hall, 

George Walton. 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. V 

Resolved, That copies of the Declaration be sent to the several assemblies, con- 
ventions, and committees, or councils ot safety, and to the several commanding 
officers of the continental troops ; that it be proclaimed in each of the United 
States, at the head of the armVo 



VI LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.^ 

We, the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, 
establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, pro- 
mote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our 
posterity, do ordain and establish this CONSTITUTION for the United States of 
America, 

L,. -\ ARTICLE I. 

Section I. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress 2 
of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. 

1 Before the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, the Thirteen Colonies were subject 
to the king of Great Britain. From July 4, 1776, the United States of America were governed 
by a Continental or General Congress, until March i, 1781, when the states adopted a con- 
stitution, called the " Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union between the States." 
The Confederation had no president, no supreme court; and consisted of a single house of 
Congress, made up of delegates elected by the legislatures of the states. Under this constitu- 
tion Congress continued to govern — in so far as a body with no practical authority can be 
said to govern — until March 4, 1789; but on May 14, 1787, a convention of delegates from 
all the states, except Rhode Island, met in Philadelphia" to form a tnore perfect union" (see 
the opening words of the Constitution above). The whole number of delegates that attended 
was fifty-five, but only thirty-nine signed the Constitution. The Articles of Confederation 
had been made by the States only; but as the opening words of the new compact declare, 
" We, the People" made the Constitution. 

George Washington presided over the convention, and Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, 
James Madison, Rufus King, Roger Sherman, Alexander Hamilton, John Dickinson, Charles 
C. Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, J. Rutledge, and Gouvemeur Morris, were among its distin- 
guished members. 

Madison, Hamilton, Washington, and Franklin took the leading part in the great work of 
drafting the new Constitution, and after its adoption by the convention, Madison and Hamil- 
ton used their influence, with great effect, to urge its ratification by the states, especially by 
New York (see their papers in the Federalist^. 

After a stormy session of nearly four months, during which the convention several times 
threatened to break up in hopeless dispute, the Constitution was at last adopted. (For the 
compromises on which it rested, see page 188, note 3.) 

While the members of the convention were signing the Constitution (for Its leading pro- 
visions, see page 190), the venerable Dr. Franklin, then aged eighty-one, rose and said: " I 
have often, in the course of the session, and the vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its 
issue, looked at the sun [painted on the wall back of the president's chair], without being able 
to tell whether it was rising or setting; but now, at length, I have the happiness to know that 
it is a rising, and not a setting sun." 

The Constitution was then submitted to the thirteen states. In 1788 eleven had ratified it 
(Rhode Island and North Carolina declining then, though they gave their assent before the 
close of 1790), and on March 4, 1789, the new Constitution went into operation, although, 
owing to delays, Washington was not inaugurated as the first President until April 30 of that 
year. 

' Congress assembles on the first Monday in December; the session closes, by custom, ^t 
ajiijnight on the ^d of the following March. Each Congress exists two years. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. vii 

Section 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen 
every second year by the people of the several States, and the electors in each State 
shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of 
the State Legislature. 

No person shall be a representative v/ho shall not have attained to the age of 
twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who 
shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be 
chosen. 

Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States 
which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers, i 
which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, includ- 
ing those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, 
three-fifths of all other persons.2 The actual enumeration shall be made within 
three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within 
every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. 
The number of representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but 
each State shall have at least one representative : and until such enumeration shall 
be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three ; Massa- 
chusetts, eight; Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, one ; Connecticut, five; 
New York, six; New Jersey, four; Pennsylvania, eight ; Delaware, one ; Maryland, 
six; Virginia, ten; North Carolina, five; South Carolina, five; and Georgia, three. 

When vacancies happen in the representation firom any State, the executive 
authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 

The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker 3 and other officers; 
and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

Section 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators 
from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six years ; and each senator 
shall have one vote. 

Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first election, 
they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. The seats of the 
senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year; of 
the second class, at the expiration of the fourth year ; of the third class, at the ex- 
piration of the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen every second year ; and 
if vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the Legis- 
lature of any State, the executive thereof may make temporary appointments until 
the next meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 

No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty 
years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when 
elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. 

The Vice-President of the United States shall be president of the Senate, but 
shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

* At present (1890) one representative is sent to Congress for every 154,325 persons. 

* " Persons" meaning slaves. This has been amended (by Amendments XIII. and XIV.), 
and is no longer in force. 

8 The Speaker presides. Other officers are the clerk, sergeaut-at-arms, door-keeper, etc. 



o 



Vlll LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

The Senate shall choose their other officers,! and also a president pro tempore^ 
in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise the office of Presi- 
dent of the United States. 

The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments : When sitting 
for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the 
United States is tried, the Chief-Justice shall preside: and no person shall be con- 
victed without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. 

Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal 
from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or 
profit under the United States ; but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable 
and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law. 

Section 4. The times, places, and manner of holding elections for senators 
and representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; 
but the Congress may at any time, by law, make or alter such regulations, except 
as to the places of choosing senators. 

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be 
on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint a different day. 

Section 5. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifi- 
cations of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to 
do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be 
authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and 
under such penalties, as each house may provide. 

Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for 
disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member. 

Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time pub- 
lish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require secrecy, and 
the yeas and nays of the members of either house on any question shall, at the 
desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 

Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the 
other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which 
the two houses shall be sitting. 

Section 6. The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation 2 for 
their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the United 
States. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be 
privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective 
houses, and in going to and returning fi-om the same ; and for any speech or de- 
bate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place. 

No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be 
appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall 
have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased, during 
such time ; and no person holding any office under the United States, shall be a 
member of either house during his continuance in office. 

1 The chief of these are the secretary, sergeant-at-arms, door-keeper, etc. 
* $ 5CXXJ a year, with twenty cents for every mile necessarily travelled in coming to and 
returning from the CapitaL 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. tX 

Section 7. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Repre- 
sentatives ; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other bills. 

Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, 
shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United States ; 
if he approve, he shall sign it, but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to 
that house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large 
on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration, two- 
thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the 
objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if ap- 
proved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the 
votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the 
persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house 
respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days 
(Sunday excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be » 
law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjourn- 
ment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 

Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate and 
House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of adjournment) 
shall be presented to the President of the United States ; and before the same shall 
take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be re- 
passed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the 
rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. 

Section 8. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, 
imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defence and 
general welfare of the United States ; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be 
uniform throughout the United States ; 

To borrow money on the credit of the United States ; 

To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and 
with the Indian tribes ; 

To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject 
of bankruptcies throughout the United States; 

To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the 
standard of weights and measures ; 

To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin 
of the United States ; 

To establish post-offices and post-roads ; 

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing, for limited 
times, to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and 
discoveries ; 

To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court ; 

To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and 
ofFences against the law of nations ; 

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concern- 
ing captures on land and water ; 

To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be 
for a longer term than two years ; 



X LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

To provide and maintain a navy ; 

To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces ; 

To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, sup- 
press insurrections and repel invasions. 

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for govern- 
ing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, 
reserving to the States respectively the appointment of the officers, and the author- 
ity of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress ; 

To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over such district (not 
exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular States, and the accep- 
tance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States, and to 
exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the Legislature 
of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, 
dockyards, and other needful buildings ; — And 

To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execu- 
tion the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the 
government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof. 

Section 9. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the States 
now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress 
prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be 
imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.l 

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when 
in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. ''^ 

No bill of attainder or ex-post-facto law shall be passed. 

No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census 
or enumeration herein before directed to be taken. 

No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. 

No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the 
ports of one State over those of another ; nor shall vessels bound to, or from, one 
State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. 

No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of appropria- 
tions made by law ; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expen- 
ditures of all public money shall be published from time to time. 

No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States : And no person hold- 
ing any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, 
accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any 
king, prince, or foreign state. 

Section 10. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation ] 
grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills of credit ; make any- 
thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts ; pass any bill of attain- 
der, ex-post-facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any 
title of nobility. 

No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any impost or duties on 
imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its in- 

^ " Person " meaning slave/ referring to the foreign slave-trade, abolished in 1808. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. XI 

spection laws; and the net produce of all duties and impost, laid by any State on 
imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States; and all 
such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the Congress. 

No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep 
troops, or ships-of-war, in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with 
another State, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, 
or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. 

ARTICLE II. 

Section i. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United 
States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, 
together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, be elected, as follows : 

Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, 
a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators and representatives to 
which the State may be entitled in the Congress : but no senator or representative, 
or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be ap- 
pointed an elector. 

[The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for two 
persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with 
themselves. And they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the num- 
ber of votes for each; which list they shall sign and certify and transmit sealed to 
the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the president of the 
Senate. The president of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House 
of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The 
person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number 
be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if there be more 
than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the 
House of Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for Presi- 
dent; and if no person have a majority, then from the five highest on the list the 
said house shall, in like manner, choose the President. But in choosing the Presi- 
dent, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having 
one vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from 
two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. 
In every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the greatest num- 
ber of votes of the electors shall be the Vice-President. But if there should remain 
two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot 
the Vice-President. 1] 

The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day on 
which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same throughout the 
United States.2 

^ This paragraph in brackets has been set aside by the XII. Amendment. 

2 The electors are chosen on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November, next 
before the expiration of a presidential term. They vote (by Act of Congress of Feb. 3, 1887) 
on the second Monday in January following, for President and Vice-President. The votes 
are counted, and declared in Congress on the second Wednesday of the next February. 



Xll LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States at the 
time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President ; 
neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to 
the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years resident within the United 
States. 

In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, 
or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall 
devolve on the Vice-President, and the Congress may by law provide for the case 
of removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the President and Vice-Presi- 
dent, declaring what officer shall then act as President; and such officer shall act 
accordingly until the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected^ 

The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services ^ compensation i 
which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he 
shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that period any other emol- 
ument fi-om the United States, or any of them. 

Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or 
affirmation : — "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the 
office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, 
protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." 

Section 2. The President shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of 
the United States, and of the militia of the several States, when called into the actual 
service of the United States ; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal 
officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties 
of their respective offices ; and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons 
for offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make 
treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators present concur; and he shall nominate, 
and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate shall appoint ambassadors, 
other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other 
officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided 
for, and which shall be established by law : but the Congress may by law vest the 
appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, 
in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during 
the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of 
their next session. 

Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information 2 of the 
state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he 
shall judge necessary and expedient ; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene 
both houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them with 
respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall 

1 The President now receives $50,000 a year; the Vice-President, $ 8000. Previous to 
1872 the President received but $25,000 a year. 

2 The Presidents, beginning with Jefferson, have done this by messages sent to Congress. 
Washington and Adams read speeches or messages to that body. 



N 9 

iW-4^ A^Si^X. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES- xiii 

think proper ; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers ; he shall 
take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers 
of the United States. 

Section 4. The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the United 
States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, trea- 
son, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE III. 

Section i. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Su- 
preme Court, and m such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time 
ordain and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme and inferior courts, shall 
hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their 
services a compensation which shall not be diminished during their continuance in 
office. 

Section 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, aris- 
ing under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or 
which shall be made, under their authority ; — to all cases affecting ambassadors 
other public ministers, and consuls; — to all cases of admiralty and maritime juris- 
diction ; — to controversies to which the United States shall be a party; — to con- 
troversies between two or more States; — between a State and citizens of another 
State ; i — between citizens of different States ; — between citizens of the same State 
claiming lands under grants of different States, and between a State, or the citizens 
thereof, and foreign states, citizens or subjects. 

In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those 
in which a State shall be party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. 
In all other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate juris- 
diction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions and under such regulations 
as the Congress shall make. 

The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; and 
such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall have been commit- 
ted ; but when not committed within any State, the trial shall be at such place or 
places as the Congress may by law have directed. 

Section 3. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war 
against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. 

No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two wit- 
nesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. 

The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no 
attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture, except during the 
life of the person attainted. 

ARTICLE IV. 

Section i. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public acts, 
records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by 

^ But compare Amendment XI. 



Xiv LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

general laws, prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings 
shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 

Section 2. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and im- 
munities of citizens in the several States. 

A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall 
flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall, on demand of the executive 
authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the 
State having jurisdiction of the crime. 

No person 1 held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping 
into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged 
from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom 
such service or labor may be due. 

Section 3. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union ; but 
no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other State; 
nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more States, or parts of States, 
without the consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the 
Congress. 

The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and 
regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United 
States ; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any 
claims of the United States, or of any particular State. 

Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a 
republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion, 
and on application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature 
cannot be convened) against domestic violence. 

ARTICLE V. 

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall 
propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the Legisla- 
tures of two-thirds of the several States, shall call a convention for proposing 
amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as 
part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the 
several States, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other 
mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress ; provided that no amend- 
ment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight 
shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the 
first article ; and that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal 
suffrage in the Senate. 

ARTICLE VI. 

All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this 
Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as 
under the confederation. 

^ " Person " here means slave. This was the original Fugitive Slave Law. It now has no 
force, since, by Amendment XIII. to the Constitution, slavery is prohibited. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 



XV 



This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in 
pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the 
authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the 
judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws 
of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. 

The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members of the 
several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial ofificers, both of the United 
States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support 
this Constitution ; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to 
any office or public trust under the United States. 

ARTICLE VIL 



The ratification of the Conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for the estab- 
lishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the same. 

Done in conventions, by the unanimous consent of the States present, the 
seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the independence of the 
United States of America the twelfth. 

In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names. 

GEORGE WASHINGTON, 
President, and Deptityfroni Virginia. 



NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

John Langdon, 
Nicholas Oilman, 



MASSACHUSETTS. 

Nathaniel Gorham, 
RuFus King. 

CONNECTICUT. 

William Samuel Johnson, 
Roger Sherman. 

NEW YORK. 

Alexander Hamilton. 

NEW JERSEY. 

William Livingston, 
David Brearley, 
William Paterson, 
Jonathan Dayton. 



PENNSYLVANIA. 

Benjamin Franklin, 
Thomas Mifflin, 
Robert Morris, 
George Clymer, 
Thomas Fitzsimons, 
Jared Ingersoll, 
James Wilson, 
Gouverneur Morris. 

DELAWARE. 

George Read, 
Gunning Bedford, Jr., 
John Dickinson, 
Richard Bassett, 
Jacob Broom. 

MARYLAND. 

James M'Henry, 
Daniel of St. Thomas 

Jenifer, 
Daniel Carroll. 



VIRGINIA. 

John Blair, 
James Madison, Jr. 



NORTH CAROLINA. 

William Blount, 
Richard Dobbs Spaight, 
Hugh Williamson. 



SOUTH CAROLINA, 

John Rutledge, 
Charles C. Pinckney, 
Charles Pinckney, 
Pierce Butler. 



GEORGIA. 

William Few, 
Abraham Baldwin. 



Attest: 



WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary, 



Xvi LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



AMENDMENTS 

To THE Constitution of the United States, ratified according 

TO THE Provisions of the Fifth Article of 

THE Foregoing Constitution. 

Article i.i — Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of 
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abri($ging the freedom of speech, 
or of the press ; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition 
the government for redress of grievances. 

Article II. — A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free 
State the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. 

Article III. — No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, 
without the consent of the owner ; nor in time of war but in a manner to be pre- 
scribed by law. 

Article IV. — The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, 
and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affir- 
mation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or 
things to be seized. 

Article V. — No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise 
infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in 
cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in 
time of war and public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence 
to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall be compelled in any criminal 
case to be a witness against himself, nor to be deprived of life, liberty, or property, 
without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, 
without just compensation. 

Article VI. — In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to 
a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the 
crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascer- 
tained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation ; to be 
confronted with the witnesses against him ; to have compulsory process for obtain- 
ing witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence. 

Article VII. — In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall 
exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried 
by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States than ac- 
cording to the rules of common law. 

Article VIII. — Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines im- 
posed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

* The first ten amendments were offered in 1789, and adopted before the close of 1791. 
They were largely the work of James Madison. They were adopted, says Judge Story, in order 
to " more efficiently guard certain rights already provided for in the Constitution, or to pro- 
hibit certain exercises of authority supposed to be dangerous to the public interests." 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. XVU 

Article IX. — The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not 
be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

Article X. — The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitu- 
tion, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to 
the people. 

Article XI.i — The judicial power of the United States shall not be con- 
strued to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against any 
of the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any 
foreign state. 

Article XII.^ — The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote 
by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an 
inhabitant with the same State with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the 
person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice- 
President ; and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, 
and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, 
which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the govern- 
ment of the United States, directed to the president of the Senate; —the president 
of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, 
open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted; — the person having 
the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number 
be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have 
such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding 
three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall 
choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the 
votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; 
a quorum for this purpose shall consist 'of a member or members from two-thirds 
of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if 
the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of 
choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of Marcli next following, then 
the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other con- 
stitutional disability of the President. The person having thi^ greatest number of 
votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority 
of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if no person have a majority, then 
from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-Presi- 
dent ; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of 
senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But 
no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that 
of Vice-President of the United States. 

"Article XHI.s — Section i. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, ex- 
cept as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, 
shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legis- 
lation. 

1 Proposed in 1794; adopted 1798. A number of states have, at different times, taken 
advantage of this amendment to repudiate their debts. ^ Adopted 1804. 

3 This confirmed the Proclamation of Emancipation; it was adopted in 1865, 



XVIU LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Article XJV.i — Section I. All persons born or naturalized in the United 
States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and 
of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which 
shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States ; nor shall 
any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of 
law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. 

Section 2. Representatives shall be appointed among the several States accord- 
ing to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each 
State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for 
the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, repre- 
sentatives in Congress, the executive or judicial officers of a State, or the members 
of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, 
being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way 
abridged, except for participation in rebellion or other crime, the basis of represen- 
tation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male 
citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in 
such State. 

Section 3. No person shall be a senator or representative in Congress, or elector 
of President or Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United 
States, or under any State, who having previously taken an oath as a member of 
Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State Legis- 
lature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution 
of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the 
same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote 
of two-thirds of each house, remove such disability. 

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by 
law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in 
suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the 
United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in 
aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss 
or emancipation of any slave ; but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be 
held illegal and void. 

Section 5. Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the 
provisions of this article. 

Article XV.2 — Section x. The rights of citizens of the United States to vote 
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account 
of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legis- 
lation. 

1 Adopted 1868. The object of sections i and 2 was to make the freedmen (negroes), 
emancipated during the Civil War, citizens of the United States. 

* Adopted 1870. Its object was to give the freedmen (negroes) the right to vote. 




EN^IX0^ XLL^ 



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XX 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



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APPENDIX. 



XXI 



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XXll 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



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APPENDIX. 



XXlll 



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XXIV 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



PRINCIPAL DATES IN AMERICAN HISTORY. 



[The * marks the most important dates.] 



I. The Period of Discovery, igoo- 

1507- 

The coming of the Northmen, 1000. 
*Columbus discovers the West Indies (San 
Salvador), 1492. 
Letter of Columbus describing his voyage, 

1493- 
*The Cabots discover the Continent of North 

America, 1497. 
Voyages of Amerigo Vespucci to South 

America, 1499-1503. 
Amerigo Vespucci publishes an account of 
his voyages, 1504. 
*WaldseemuIler publishes a geography in 
which he suggests that the New World 
be called AMERICA, 1507. 

II. Attempts at Exploring and 

Colonizing North America, 

1509-1587- 

Diego Columbus (son of Christopher Colum- 
bus), governor of San Domingo, conquers 
Cuba, 1509. 
*Ponce de Leon discovers and names Florida, 

1513- 
*Balboa discovers the Pacific, 1513. 

Cortez conquers Mexico, 1519- 
*Magellan's voyage round the globe, 1519- 

1521. 
Verrazzano explores the coast of North 

America (?), 1524 (?). 
Cabeza de Vaca discovers one of the mouths 

of the Mississippi, 1528. 
Cartier discovers the St. Lawrence and names 

Montreal, 1535. 
*De Soto's expedition (he discovers the main 

stream of the Mississippi), 1539-1542. 
Huguenot settlement at Port Royal (not per- 
manent), 1562. 
Huguenot settlement on the St. John's River, 

Florida (broken u^j by the Spaniards) , 1564. 
*The Spaniards settle St. Augustine, Florida 

(the oldest town in the United States), 1565. 



Sir Martin Frobisher's voyages (in search of 
a Northwest Passage), 1576. 

*Sir Francis Drake sails round the world 
(visits the western coast of North America 
and names it New Albion), 1577-1579. 
Sir Humphrey Gilbert's voyages (takes pos- 
session of Newfoundland), 1578, 1583. 

*The Spaniards settle Santa Fe, New Mexico 
(the second oldest town in the United 
States), 1582. 

*Sir Walter Raleigh sends out his first expe- 
dition to North America (the country 
named Virginia in honor of Queen Eliza- 
beth), 1584. 
Sir Walter Raleigh sends out colonies to 
setde (Roanoke Island) "Virginia" (not 
permanent), 1585, 1587. 

III. Opening of the Seventeenth 
Century; Permanent English 
AND French Settlements; The 
Thirteen Colonies, (i 602-1 763.) 

Gosnold's expedition to Northern Virginia 
(New England), 1602. 

*Jamestown, Virginia, settled (the first per- 
manent English settlement made in Amer- 
ica) , 1607. 
Sir George Popham attempts to make a set- 
tlement in Maine, 1607. 

*The French settle Quebec (first permanent 
French settlement in America), 1608. 

*Henry Hudson explores the Hudson River, 
1609. 

*John Rolf begins the cultivation of tobacco 
at Jamestown, Virginia, 1612. 

*The Dutch take possession of New Nether- 
land (New York), 1614. 

*The House of Burgesses (the first law-mak- 
ing assembly in America) meets at James- 
town, 1619. 

*Negro slavery is introduced into Virginia, 
1619. 

*Landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, 1620. 



PRINCIPAL DATES IN AMERICAN HISTORY. 



XXV 



The Dutch build Fort Orange (Albany), 1622. 
First permanent English settlement made 
(at Pemaquid Point) in Maine, 1625. 
♦The Dutch purchase Manhattan Island (New 
York City) of the Indians, 1626. 
Settlement of Dover, New Hampshire, 1627. 
Settlement of Salem, Massachusetts, 1628. 
*Settlement ol Boston, 1630. 

Settlement of Portland, Maine, 1632. 
♦Settlement of St. Mary's, Maryland, 1634. 
♦The first English Catholic Church estab- 
lished in America, 1634. 
♦Religious toleration granted in Maryland to 

all Christians, 1634. 
♦Settlements begun in Connecticut (Wethers- 
field and Windsor), 1635. 
♦A public school is established in Boston, 

1635. 
♦Settlement of Providence, Rhode Island, by 

Roger Williams, 1636. 
♦Religious toleration granted in Rhode Island 
to all persons (whether Christians or not), 
1636. 
♦Harvard College founded, 1636. 
The Pequot War, 1637. 
New Haven, Connecticut, settled, 1638. 
Delaware settled by the Swedes, 1638. 
♦The Connecticut Constitution (the first writ- 
ten constitution framed by the people in 
America), 1639. 
First printing-press in New England, 1639. 
First New England Confederacy, 1643. 
Clayborne's Rebellion in Maryland, 1645. 
Coming of the Quakers to New England, 

1656. 
The English settle in North Carolina, 1663. 
The Regicides come to New England, 1663. 
The English seize New Netherland (New 
Amsterdam becomes New York City) , 1664, 
The English settle Elizabeth, New Jersey, 

1664. 
The Connecticut and the New Haven colo- 
nies united, 1664. 
♦French exploration of the West begins, 1669. 
♦Settlement of Old Charleston (South Caro- 
lina), 1670. 
♦King Philip's War, 1675. 
♦Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia, 1676. 
♦William Penn settles Philadelphia, Pennsyl- 
vania, i683. 
♦La Salle explores the Mississippi, 1682. 
First war with the French and the Indians 

(" King William's War"), 1689. 
The Salem Witchcraft, 1692. 
William and Mary College (Virginia) 
founded, 1692. 



♦Cultivation of rice begun in South Carolina, 
1693. 
Yale College founded, 1701. 
The French establish a colony at Mobile, 

1701. 
Second war with the French and the Indians 
(" Queen Anne's War"), 1702. 
♦The Boston News Letter, the first news- 
paper published in America, 1704. 
New Orleans founded by the French, 1718. 
Benjamin Franklin begins his " Poor Rich- 
ard's Almanac," 1732. 
Oglethorpe settles Savannah, Georgia, 1733. 
Cultivation of indigo begun in South Caro- 
lina, 1741. 
Third war with the French (" King George's 

War"), 1744. 
Louisburg taken, 1745. 
♦Benjamin Franklin discovers that lightning 
and electricity are identical, 1752. 
Washington sent as a commissioner to the 

French, 1753. 
The fourth French and Indian War, 1754. 
♦The Albany Convention, 1754. 
The Rev. Jonathan Edwards publishes his 
work on the '* Freedom of the Will," 1754. 
Braddock's defeat, 1755. 
♦Fort Duquesne taken by the English and 

named Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh), 1758. 
♦Wolfe takes Quebec, 1759. 
♦Treaty of peace, 1763. 
Pontiac's War, 1763. 

IV. The Revolution; The Consti- 
tution. ( 1 765-1 788.) 

♦Parliament passes the Stamp Act, 1765. 

Repeal of the Stamp Act, 1766. 

The Declaratory Act, 1766. 

Duties laid on glass, paints, paper, and tea, 
1767. 

British troops sent to Boston, 1768. 

The Boston Massacre (March 3), 1770. 

Destruction of the Gaspee (June 10), 1772. 

All duties repealed except that on tea, 1773. 
♦The "Boston Tea-Party" (December 16), 

1773- 
General Gage appointed military governor, 

1774- 
♦Parliament closes the port of Boston (June i), 

1774- 
♦The first Continental Congress meets at Phil- 
adelphia (September 5), 1774. 

The battle of Lexington (April 19), 1775. 

The battle of Concord (April 19), 1775. 

The siege of Boston begins (April 20), 1775. 



XXVI 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



Ethan Allen takes Ticonderoga (May lo), 

1775- 
Crown Point taken (May ii), 1775. 
*Washington appointed commander-in-chief 

(June 15), 1775. 
*Battle of Bunker Hill (June 17), 1775. 
Washington takes command of the Conti- 
nental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts 

(Julys). 1775- 
General Montgomery takes Montreal (No- 
vember 13), 1775. 
Montgomery and Arnold attack Quebec 
(Montgomery killed) (December 31), 1775. 
Paine's " Common Sense "(January 5), 1776. 
*The British evacuate Boston (March 17), 
1776.^ . 
The British fail in their attack on Fort Moul- 
trie, South Carolina (June 28), 1776. 
♦Declaration of Independence (July 4), 1776. 
*Battle of Long Island (August 27), 1776, 
Battle of White Plains, New York (October 

28), 1776. 

Fort Washington taken (November 16), 1776. 

♦Washington retreats across New Jersey and 

crosses the Delaware (November 19 to 

December 8), 1776. 

♦Washington gains the victory of Trenton, 

New Jersey (December 26), 1776. 
♦Washington victorious at Princeton, New 
Jersey (January 3), 1777. 
He goes into winter quarters at Morristown, 

New Jersey, 1777. 
Arrival of Lafayette in summer of i ■]■]■]. 
♦American victory at Bennington, Vermont 
(August 16), 1777. 
British victory at Brandjrwine Creek, Penn- 
sylvania (September 11), 1777. 
Battle of Bemis Heights, New York (Sep- 
tember 19), 1777. 
♦Howe enters Philadelphia (September 26), 
1777. 
British victory at Germantown, Pennsyl- 
vania (October 4), 1777. 
♦American victory at Stillwater, New York 

(October 7), 1777. 
♦American victory at Saratoga, New York; 
Burgoyne surrenders (October 17), 1777. 
Washington goes into winter quarters at 
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania (December 
11), 1777. 
♦France acknowledges the independence of 

the United States (February 6), 1778. 
♦The British evacuate Philadelphia (June 18), 
1778. 
Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey (June 28), 
1778. 



Indian massacre at Wyoming, Pennsylvania 
(July 3), 1778. 

Indian massacre at Cherry Valley, New York 
(November 11), 1778. 

The British take Savannah, Georgia (De- 
cember 29), 1778. 

"Mad Anthony" Wayne takes Stony Point 

(July 15), 1779- 
♦Victory of Paul Jones off coast of England 
(September 23), 1779. 
British conquest of Georgia, 1779. 
British capture of Charleston, South Caro- 
lina (May 12), 1780. 
British victory at Camden, South Carolina 
(August 16), 1780. 
♦Arnold's treason (September), 1780. 
American victory at King's Mountain, South 
Carolina (October 7), 1780. 
♦General Greene takes command of the Amer- 
ican army at the South, 1780. 
♦American victory at Cowpens, South Caro- 
lina (January 17), 1781. 
♦Greene's retreat northward, 1781. 
British gain battle of Guilford Court-House, 

North Carolina (March 15), 1781. 
British success at Hobkirk's Hill, South 

Carolina (April 25), 1781. 
British retreat from Eutaw Springs, South 

Carolina (September 8), 1781. 
Benedict Arnold and Cornwallis invade Vir- 
ginia, 1781. 
♦American victory of Yorktown (October 19), 
1781. 
The war suspended, 1782. 
♦Treaty of peace with Great Britain (Septem- 
ber 3), 1783. 
Shays' Rebellion in Massachusetts, 1786. 
♦The Federal Convention frames the Consti- 
tution, 1787. 
The ordinance concerning the Northwest 
Territory, 1787. 
♦The states accept the Constitution, 1788. 

V. The Union; National Devel- 
opment. ( 1 789-1860.) 

WASHINGTON inaugurated President 
of the United States (two terms), 1 789-1797. 
♦Organization of the departments of the gov- 
ernment and formation of the Cabinet, 
1789. 

Revenue Tariff imposed, 1789. 

First census, 1790. 

Cincinnati (settled 1788) named 1790. 

United States Bank established, 1791. 

United States Mint established, 1792. 



PRINCIPAL DATES IN AMERICAN HISTORY. 



XXVll 



Organization of political parties begun, — Fed- 
eralists and Anti-Federalists or Demo- 
cratic-Republicans, a name later shortened 
to Democrats, — 1792. 
♦Whitney invents the cotton-gin, 1793. 
The Whiskey Rebellion, 1794. 
Jay's treaty with Great Britain, 1795. 
ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION (one 

term, 1797-1801). 
The X. Y. Z. Papers, — War with France, 
1798.^ 
*The Alien and the Sedition Laws, 1798. 
Peace made with France, 1799. 
Death of Washington, 1799. 
*The city of Washington made the national 
capital, 1800. 
JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRA- 
TION (two terms, 1801-1809). 
War with Tripoli, 1801. 
♦Purchase of Louisiana, 1803. 
*Lewis and Clarke's expedition, 1804. 
Peace with Tripoli, 1805. 
The Leopard and the Chesapeake, 1807. 
*The Embargo, 1807. 

Burr's expedition and trial, 1807. 
♦Fulton's steamboat (August 11), 1807. 
The importation of slaves forbidden, 1808. 
The Non-Intercourse Act, 1809. 
MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION 

(two terms, 1809-1817). 
End of the Non-Intercourse Policy, 1810. 
First steamboat on the Ohio and the Mis- 
sissippi, iSii. 
Great earthquake in the Southwest, 181 1. 
Battle of Tippecanoe, 181 1. [1812. 

*War declared against Great Britain (June 18), 

Hull surrenders Detroit (August 16), 1812. 

*The Co}istii7itio7i takes the Qiierriere 

(August 19), — many American victories 

on the sea follow, 1S12. [1S13. 

*Perry's victoiy on Lake Erie (September 10), 

Jackson's victory at Tohopeka, Alabama 

(]\L-irch 27), 1S14. 
Battle of Chippewa (July 5), 1814. 
Battle of Lundy's Lane (July 25), 1814. [1814. 
*The British take Washington (August 24), 
■♦Macdonough's victory on Lake Champlain 

(September 11), 1814. 
Hartford Convention (December 15), 1814. 
Treaty of peace signed at Ghent (December 
24), 1814. 
•Jackson's victory at New Orleans (January 

8), 1815. 
MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION 

(two terms, 181 7-1825). 
First Seminole War, 1817. 



The first steamship — the Savannah — 
(American) crosses the Atlantic, 1819. 
♦Purchase of Florida, 1819. 
♦The Missouri Compromise, 1820. 
♦Extension of National Road, 1822. 
♦The Monroe Doctrine, 1823. 
High Protective Tariff established, 1824. 
Lafayette visits the United States, 1824. 
ADAMS'S (J. Q. ) ADMINISTRA- 
TION (one term, 1825-1829). 
♦The Erie Canal opened, 1825, 
♦The temperance reform movement begun, 

1826. 
♦Ground broken at Baltimore for the first rail- 
road, 1828. 
♦Publication of Webster's " Dictionary," — 
Irvifig, Cooper y Bryatit, — 1828. 
JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION 
(two terms, 1829-1837). 
♦General removal of government officers, 1829, 
♦The first steam railroad opened (at Balti- 
more), 1830. 
♦Garrison begins the publication of the Liber- 
ator (January i), 1831, 
The President vetoes the United States Bank 
Bill, 1832. 
♦Nullification in South Carolina, 1832. 
Chicago founded, 1833. 

The New York Daily Sun, the first one- 
cent newspaper, appears, 1833. 
♦McCormick's reaper, 1834. 
Rise of the Whig party, 1834. 
Second Seminole War, 1835. 
Coal comes into extensive use, 1835. 
Great fire in New York City, 1835. 
♦Rise of American Literature, — Whittier, 
Lo7igfellow , Holmes, Lowell, Fmerson, 
Bancroft, Prescott, Hawthortie, Poe, 
— 1835. 
VAN BUREN'S ADMINISTRA- 
TION (one term, 1837-1841). 
♦Business panic, 1837. 
Repudiation of state debts, 1838. 
Congress refuses to receive petitions for the 
abolition of slavery in the District of Co- 
lumbia, 1838. 
♦Beginning of the American express system, 
1839. 
The Mormons settle Nauvoo, 1839. 
♦The first line of steamships between Europe 

and America (Cunard) established, 1840. 
♦The government establishes an independent 
treasury with sub-treasuries, 1840. 
HARRISON AND TYLER'S AD- 
MINISTRATIONS (one term, 1841- 
1845). 



XXVlll 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



Death of President Harrison (April 4), 1841. 
*Ashburton Treaty, 1842. 
The "Dorr Rebellion "in Rhode Island, 

1842. 
Anti-rent troubles in New York State, 1842. 
Dr. Whitman leaves Oregon for Washington 
(October 3) (returns, 1843), 1842. 
*Morse completes the first line of electric tele- 
graph and sends the first message (May 
24), 1844. 
*The President signs the bill for the annexa- 
tion of Texas (March i), 1845. 
*Morton's discovery of the anaesthetic uses of 

ether, 1845. 
POLK'S ADMINISTRATION (one 

term, 1845-1849), 
*Texas admitted to the Union (December 20) , 

1845- 
Great increase in emigration to the United 

States begins, 1845. 
*Treaty settling the Oregon boundary, 1846. 
*Elias Howe invents the sewing-machine, 

1846. 
Protective duties taken off (1846) Revenue 
Tariff established ; this continued until 1861. 
*War declared against Mexico (May 13), 

1846. 
(The battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la 
Palma, May 8 and 9, 1846, were fought 
before the formal declaration of war.) 
Conquest of California, 1846. 
New Mexico conquered, 1846. 
Battle of Monterey September 24), 1846, 
Battle of Buena Vista (February 23), 1847. 
Battle of Contreras (August 20), 1847. 
Battle of Chapultepec (September 13), 1847. 
The city of Mexico taken (September 14), 

1847. 
Treaty of peace with Mexico (February 2) , 
1848. 
♦Discovery of gold in California, spring of 
1848. 
The Mormons emigrate to Utah, 1848. 
Great movement of emigrants and gold-dig- 
gers to California, beginning in the spring 
of 1849. 
TAYLOR AND FILLMORE'S AD- 
MINISTRATION (one term, 1849- 

1853). 
Death of President Taylor (July 9), 1850. 
Clay's " Omnibus Bill," 1850. 
*Passage of the Fugitive Slave Law (included 

in the " Omnibus Bill "), 1S50. 
The Maine prohibition law passed, 1851. 
Rise of the American or "Know-Nothing" 

party, 1852. 



*" Uncle Tom's Cabin " published, 1852, 
PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION 

(one term, 1853-1857). 
^Purchase of Arizona and New Mexico, 1853. 
Opening of the World's Fair at New York, 

1853- 
Perry's treaty with Japan, 1854. 
^Passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, 1854. 
*The struggle for the possession of Kansas 

begins; first appearance of John Brown, 

1855. 
Assault on Senator Sumner, 1856. 
*RIse of the Republican party, 1856. 
BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION 

(one term, 1857-1861). 

*The Dred Scott decision, 1857, 

*Business panic, 1857. 
First Atlantic Cable (soon failed), 1858. 

*I)iscovery of silver in Nevada and Colorado, 
and of petroleum in Pennsylvania, 185S- 
1859. [ber 16), 1859. 

*John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry (Octo- 

*Election of Abraham Lincoln, i860. 

*Secession of South Carolina (December 20), 
i860. 
Steamer Star of the West fired on by the 
Secessionists (January 9), 1861. 

*Formation of the Southern Confederacy (Feb- 
ruary 4), 1861. 
Jefferson Davis elected President of the Con- 
federacy (February 18), 1861. 

VI. The Civil War. (1861-1865.) 

LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION 

(one term and part of second, 1861 to April 
14, 1865). 
*Bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter 

(April 13), 1861. 
^President Lincoln's call for 75,000 volunteers 
(April 15), 1861. 
Seizure of arms at Harper's Ferry by Confed- 
erates (April 18), 1861. 
Bloodshed at Baltimore (April 19), 1861. 
Seizure of Norfolk Navy Yard by Confeder- 
ates (April 20), 1861. 
'Secession* of Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, 
and North Carolina, making the whole 
number of states in the Confederacy eleven 
(May-June), 1S61. 
General Butler declares fugitive slaves co7i- 

trahatid of ivar, 1S6 1 . 
Union victory of Rich Mountain, West Vir- 
ginia (July 21), 1861. 
♦Confederate victory of Bull Run (July 21), 
1861. 



PRINCIPAL DATES IN AMERICAN HISTORY, 



XXIX 



Confederate victory of Wilson's Creek, Mis- 
souri (August lo), 1861. 

Union capture of Fort Hatteras, North Caro- 
lina (August 29), 1861. 

Union capture of Port Royal, South Caro- 
lina (November 7) , 1861. 

Union capture of Mason and Slidell {Trent 
affair) (Novembers), 1861. 

Union victory of Mill Spring, Kentucky 
(January 19), 1862. 

Union victory at Fort Henry, Tennessee 
(February 6), 1862. 

Union capture of Roanoke Island, North 
Carolina (February 8), 1862. 
*Grant takes Fort Donelson, Tennessee (Feb- 
ruary 16), 1862. 

Union victory at Pea Ridge, Arkansas (March 
5-8), 1862. 
*The Monitor fights the jSkrrimac (or 

Vir^s:inin) (March 9), 1S62. 
*Grant's victory at Pittsburg LandiHg or Shi- 

loh, Tennessee (April 6-7) , 1862. 
♦Union capture of Island No. Ten, Mississippi 
River (April 8), 1862. 

Union capture of Fort Pulaski, Georgia 
(April 11), 1862. 
*Farragut takes New Orleans (April 25), 1862. 
jBattle of Williamsburg, Virginia (May 5), 
1862. 

" Stonewall " Jackson drives Banks out of 
the Shenandoah Valley (May 26), 1862. 

Union capture of Corinth, Mississippi (May 
30), 1S62. 

Union victoiy of Fair Oaks, Virginia (May 
31), 1S62. 

Lee takes active conunand of tlie armies 
around Richmond (June 3), 1862. 

The " Seven Days' Battles " around Rich- 
mond (June 25 to July i), 1862. 

Pope's campaign in Virginia (Confederates 
victorious) (August), 1S62. 

Second battle of Bull Run (Confederate vic- 
tory) (August 30), 1862. 

" Stonewall " Jackson takes Harper's Ferry 
(September 15), 1S62. 

*Union victory at Antietam (Sept. 17), 1S62. 
Bragg invades Kentucky (September), 1862. 

fBattle of Perryville, Kentucky (Oct. S), 1S62. 

*Confederate victory at Fredericksburg, Vir- 
ginia (December 13), 1862. 
Union victory of Murfreesboro', Tennessee 
(December 31 to January 2), 1862. 

♦Lincoln's Proclamation of Emancipation 
(January i), 1863. 



Union victory of Arkansas Post (January 11), 

1863. 
*Act establishing National Banks (February 
23), 1863. 

Confederate victory of Chancellorsville, Vir- 
ginia (May 2-3), 1863. 
*Union victory of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 

(July 1-3), 1863. 
*Grant takes Vicksburg (July 4), 1863. 

Union victory at Helena, Arkansas (July 4), 
1863. 
*Union capture of Port Hudson on the Missis- 
sippi (July 9), 1863. 

Draft riots in New York City (July 13-16), 
1863. 

Morgan's raid into Ohio (July), 1863. 

Confederate victory of Chickamauga, Geor- 
gia (September 19-20), 1863. 

Confederates besiege Chattanooga, Tennessee 
(October-November), 1863. 

Confederates besiege Knoxville, Tennessee 
(November 18-29) , 1863. 

Union victory at Lookout Mountain, Ten- 
nessee (November 24-25), 1863. 

Sherman destroys Meridian, Mississippi 
(February 3 to March 5), and the rail- 
roads centering there, 1864. 

Grant made lieutenant-general (March 3), 
1864. 

Confederate capture of Fort Pillow, Tennes- 
see (April 12), 1864. 
fBattle of the»Wilderness, Virginia (May 5-7), 

1864. 
fBattle at Spottsylvania Court-House, Vir- 
ginia (May 8-18), 1864. 

Union victory at Resaca, Georgia (May 14- 
15), 1864. 

Union victory at Dallas, Georgia (May 25- 
28), 1864. 

Confederate victory at Cold Harbor, Vir- 
ginia (June 3), 1864. 

Siege of Petersburg, Virginia, begun (June), 
1864. 

The Kearsarge sinks the Alabama (Juhc 
19), 1864. 

Confederate victory at Kenesaw Mountain, 
Georgia (June 27), 1864. 

Union victories at Atlanta, Georgia (July 
20-28), 1864, 

Early's raid on Washington (July), 1864. 

Early burns Chambersburg, Pennsylvania 
(July 30), 1864. 

Confederate success at the Petersburg mine, 
Virginia (July 30), 1864. 



t Battles so marked were indecisive. 



XXX 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



♦Farragut enters Mobile Bay (August 5), 

1864. 
*Sherman takes Atlanta, Georgia (Septem- 
ber 2), 1864. 
*Union victory at Winchester, Virginia 

(September 19), 1864. 
*Union victory at Cedar Creek, Virginia 

(" Sheridan's Ride") (October 19), 1864. 
^Sherman's march from Atlanta to Savannah 
(November 12 to December 21), 1864. 
Union victory at Franklin, Tennessee (No- 
vember 30), 1864. 
Sherman takes Fort McAllister, Georgia 
(December 13), 1864. 
*Thomas gains decisive Union victory at 
Nashville, Tennessee (December 15-16), 
1864. 
*Sherman takes Savannah, Georgia (Decem- 
ber 21), 1864. 
Union capture of Fort Fisher, North Caro- 
lina (January 15), 1865. 
Sherman marches northward (February to 

March), 1865. 
Union capture of Columbia, South Carolina 

(February 17), 1865. 
Union capture of Charleston, South Caro- 
lina (February 18), 1865. 
Union capture of Wilmington, North Caro- 
lina (February 21), 1865. 
Union victory at Averysboro', North Caro- 
lina (March 15), 1865. 
Union victory at Bentonville, North Caro- 
lina (March 19), 1865. 
Sheridan's raid on Lynchburg, Virginia 

(March), 1865. 
Union victory at Five Forks, Virginia 

(April i), 1865. 
Union capture of Petersburg, Virginia 
(April 2), 1865. 
*Grant takes Richmond, Virginia (April 3), 

1865. 
*Lee surrenders to Grant (April 9), 1865. 
General Anderson raises the Union flag over 
Fort Sumter, South Carolina (April 14), 
1865. 
♦Assassination of Lincoln (April 14), 1865. 

VII, Reconstruction; The New 
Nation. (1865 to the Present 
Time.) 

JOHNSON'S ADMINISTRATION 

(April 15, 1865, to 1869). 
Review of Grant's and of Sherman's armies 

at Washington (May 23-24), 1865. 
Gradual disbanding of the Union armies, 1865. 



The President's proclamation of pardon 

(limited) (May 29), 1865. j 

Reorganization of Southern States, 1865. 
*The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitu- 
tion accepted by the states, 1865. 
*Payment of the National Debt begun, 1865. 
Tennessee re-admitted to the Union, 1866. 

*The second Atlantic Cable laid, 1866. 
Reconstruction acts passed over the Presi- 
dent's veto, 1867. 
Tenure of Office Act, 1S67 (repealed, 1887). 

*Purchase of Alaska, 1S67. 
Impeachment of the President, 1868. 

*Six states re-admitted to the Union, 1868. 
The Burlingame Treaty with China, 1868. 

*The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitu- 
tion accepted by the states, 1868. 

*The President's proclamation of full and un- 
conditional pardon (Christmas), 186S. 

GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION (two 
terms, 1869-1877). 

*The Pacific Railroad completed (Mayio),i869. 

"*Organization of the "Knights of Labor, "1869. 

*Completion of the reconstruction of Southern 
States (all re-admitted to the Union), 1870. 

*\Veather Bureau established, 1870. [1S70. 

*Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution, 

Tweed Ring in New York, 187 1. 
Ku-Klux Klans, 1871. 
*Great fire at Chicago and Western forest 

fires, 1871. 
*Treaty of Washington, 1871, 
*Great fire at Boston, 1872. 
Settlement of the Alabama claims, 1872. 
Modoc War, 1872. 
*Busines3 panic, 1873. 
Whiskey Ring, 1875. 

*Centennial celebration and exhibition (electric 
light and Bell telephone exhibited), X876. 
Sioux War — death of General Custer, 1876. 
*Electoral Commission, 1877. 
HAYES'S ADMINISTRATION (one 

term, 1877-1881). 
The President withdraws all troops from the 
South, 1877, 
*Great railroad strikes, 1877. 
*The telephone begins to come into general 
use, 1877, 
Yellow fever at the South, 1878. 
Silver dollars restored (remonetization of sil- 
ver), 1878. 
*Resumption of specie payment (January i), 

1879.^ 
*Eads's improvement of the navigation of the 
Mississippi, 1879. 
Treaty with China, 1880. 



PRINCIPAL DATES IN AMERICAN HISTORY. 



XXXI 



GARFIELD'S AND ARTHUR'S 
ADMINISTRATIONS (one term, 

1881-18S5). 
*Assassination of the President (July 2) 1881. 

Death of the President (September 19), 1881. 

Overflow of the Mississippi, 1SS2. 
*Passage of the Edmunds Bill punishing plural 
marriages and polygamy in the Territories, 
1882. 

Electric lights begin to come into general 
use, 1883. 

Completion of the East River Suspension 
Bridge, 1S83. 
*Civil Service Reform Commission, 1883. 
*Reduction in rates of letter-postage (to two 
cents), 1883, 1885. 

Cincinnati riot, 1884. 

New Orleans Exhibition, 1884. 
CLEVELAND'S ADMINISTRA- 

TION (one term, 1885 to 1889). 

Progress in civil service reform, 1885. 

Extensive labor strikes, 1S86. 

Anarchist riot at Chicago, 1886. 

The Charleston earthquake, 1886. 

The Statue of Liberty completed at New 
York, 1886. 

Presidential Succession Act, 1886. 

Interstate Commerce Act, 1887. 

Chinese Immigration Act, 1888. 
Western " blizzardsf" 1888. 
HARRISON'S ADMINISTRATION 
(one term, 1889-1893). 

Opening of the Oklahoma lands to settlers 
(April 22), i88g. 

Centennial celebration of the inauguration of 
Washington (April 29 to May i), 1889. 

The Johnstown disaster (May 31), 1S89. 
*Electricity begins to be extensively used for 
driving light machinery and propelling 
street cars, i88g. 

A number of new steel war-ships added to 
the Navy, 1889. 

Trouble with Germany relative to Samoa ; 
settled by conference, 1889. 
*Introduction of the Australian or Secret Bal- 
lot (Massachusetts), 18S9. 

Congress of the Three Americas (Pan-Amer- 
ican Congress) (October 2), 1889-1890. 

The " Squadron of Evolution " sails from 
Boston for Lisbon (December 7), 1889. 
*The United States Supreme Court (the Chief- 
Justice and two associate justices dissent- 
ing) affirms the Edmunds Law of 1882 
punishing plural marriages and polygamy 



in the Territories, dissolves the Mormon 
Church corporation, and declares its prop- 
erty forfeited to the United States, 1890. 

Formation of the Farmers Alliance at the 
South and in sections of the West, 1890. 

New Pension Act, 1890. 
*The first State (Wyoming) having full woman 
suffrage, admitted, 1890. 

Act against Trusts and Combinations, 1S90. 
*The Sherman Silver Purchase Act (directing 
the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase 
4,500,000 ounces of Silver monthly), 1890; 
(repealed 1893). 
*The Mormon Church renounces plural mar- 
riages and polygamy, 1S90. 

Great Sioux reservation (9,000,000 acres) 
opened to white settlers, 1890. 

Indian lands (3,000,000 acres) opened in Min- 
nesota to white settlers, 1890. 
♦Passage of the McKinley (Protective) Tariff ■ 
1890. 

Mississippi adopts a new Constitution (deny- 
ing the right of future secession from the 
Union), 1S90. 

The eleventh or centennial Census taken, 
showing a total population of 62,622,250 
1S90. 

Italian murderers lynched at New Orleans, 
1891. 

International Copyright Act, 1891. 

Difficulty with Chili on account of assaults 
on American seamen, 1891. 

Behring Sea (Seal Fishery) controversy be- 
tween England and the United States sub- 
mitted to arbitration, 1891. 

Hawaiian Protectorate, 1892. 

Chili apologizes to the United States, 1892. 

Louisiana refuses to re-charter the Louisiana 
Lottery, 1S92. 

Chinese Exclusion Law, 1892. 

Great floods at the West(more than ^30,000,000 
of property destroyed), 1892. 

Great Strike at Homestead, Pa., 1892. 

Organization of the People's Party, 1S92. 

Columbus celebration, 1892. 
*Extension of Civil Service Reform by Presi- 
dent Harrison, 1893. 
CLEVELAND'S ADMINISTRA- 
TION (.S93-). 
♦Opening of the Columbian Exposition at 
Chicago (May i), 1893. 

International Naval Review at New York, 
1893. 
♦Financial Panic (July-Aug.), 1S93. 



XXXll 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



*Behring Sea Commission's decision, 1893. 
Terrible Cyclones at the South (Aug. and 

Oct.), 1893- 
♦Repeal of the Sherman Silver Bullion Pur- 
chase Act of 1S90 (Nov. i), 1S93. 



*By Amendment to the State Constitution, 
Colorado grants full suffrage to women, 

1893. 
The Louisiana State Lottery ceases to exist, 

Dec. 31, 1893. 



A LIST OF BOOKS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 



XXXlll 



A SHORT LIST OF BOOKS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 



-•o*- 



General Histories. 

*Winsor*s Narrative and Critical History, 8 

vols, (to 1887, but not including the period 

ofthe Civil War). 
*Bancroft's United States, 6 vols, (revised 

edition) (to 1789). 
*Hildreth's United States, 6 vols, (to 1821). 
*Bryant and Gay's United States, 4 vols, (to 

1865). 
*Johnston's United States (reprinted from 

the Encyclopaedia Britannica) (1607 to 

1889). 
*Gilman's American People (to 1881). 
*Higginson's Larger History of the United 

States (to 1837). 
Schouler's United States, 5 vols. (1783-1S61). 
Hart's Epochs of American History, 3 vols. 
(1492-1SS9). [(1492-1871). 

Scribner's American History Series, 5 vols. 
Goldwin Smith's United States, (1492-1871). 

Works of Reference. 

Lalor's Cyclopjedia of U. S. History, 3 vols. 
Appleton's Annual Cyclopjedia. 
Spofford's American Almanac. 
Johnston's American Politics. 
Von Hoist's Constitutional History of the 

United States, 8 vols, (to 1S59). 
Scribner's Statistical Atlas of the U. S. 
Lossing's Cyclopaedia of U. S. History. 

Revised edition. 
Labberton's Historical Atlas. 
Poole's Index to Reviews. 
Bryce's American Commonwealth, 2 vols. 

Revised edition. 
MacCoun's Historical Geography of the U. S. 
Hart's Epoch Maps of American Histor>\ 
Curtis's Constitutional History of the United 

States, 2 vols, (to 1865). 
Wilson's The State. 
Macy's Civil Government of the U. S. 
Putnam's Great Cities of the Republic (a 

series of vols.). 



Brooks's The Story of the States (a series of 
volumes now in course of publication). 

Scudder's American Commonwealths (a se- 
ries of volumes giving the histories of the 
states, by eminent writers). 

Sparks's American Biography, 25 vols. 

Morse's American Statesmen (a series of 
volumes by able writers) . 

Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biogra- 
phy, 6 vols. 

Warner's American Men of Letters (a com- 
panion series of vols, to the American 
Statesmen series). 

Harper's The First Century of the Republic 
(1776-1876). 

The North American Review for January, 
1876 (covering the general progress of the 
country from 1776 to 1876 in a series of arti- 
cles on Religion, Politics, Science, Polit- 
ical Economy, Law, and Education). 

The Statesman's Year Book. 

The Magazine of American History. 

The Magazine of Western History. 

Adams's Manual of Historical Literature (re- 
vised edition). (This valuable manual 
contains full references to all works on 
American History.) 

L Period of Discovery (1492- 
1521). 

Help's Columbus. 

Irving's Columbus. * 

Irving's Companions of Columbus. 

Harrisse, Colombo, sa vie, etc. 
§Major's Select Letters of Columbus (Hak- 
luyt Soc. Pub.). 

Higglnson's American Explorers. 

Vogel's Century of Discovery. 

Markham's The Sea Fathers. 
§Hakluyt's Divers Voyages touching the Dis- 
covery of America. 

Bourne's Voyages (The Cabots). 

Nicholl's Sebastian Cabot. 



* Books so marked begin with the earliest period of American History. 
§ Early or contemporaneous history, 



XXXIV 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



II. Period of Exploration and 
Spanish Colonization of Amer- 
ica (1509-1587).^ 

Irving's Companions of Columbus, with 

Hakluyt, as above. 
Higginson and Vogel, as above. 
Parkman's Pioneers of France in the New 

World. 
T. Irving's Conquest of Florida. 
§De Soto's Discovery and Conquest of Florida 

(Hakluyt Soc. Pub.). 
Barrow's Sir Francis Drake. 
Jones's Sir Martin Frobisher. 
Edwards's Sir Walter Ralegh [Raleigh]. 
Towle's Sir Walter Ralegh [Raleigh]. 
Cooke's Virginia.^ 
On the Indians, see 

Ellis's The Red Man and the White Man. 

Parkman's Jesuits in N. America (Intro- 
duction). 

Schoolcraft's Indian Tribes, 6 vols. 

Morgan's League of the Iroquois. 

Drake's Indian History for Young Folks. 

Bancroft's] Native Races of the Pacific 
Coast. 

III. Period of Permanent English 
AND French Settlements (1607- 

1763)- 

Lodge's English Colonies, 

Grahame's United States, 4 vols. 

Doyle's The English in America, 3 vols. 
§Winthrop's New England, 2 vols. 

Palfrey's New England, 5 vols. 

Drake's Making of New England. 

Fiske's The Beginnings of New England. 

Lowell's Essays: New England Two Hun- 
dred Years Ago. 
§Jefiferson's Notes on Virginia. 

Coffin's Old Times in the Colonies. 
§Captain John Smith's Works (Arber's edi- 
tion). 

Cooke's Virginia.^ 

Brodhead's New York, 2 vols. 

O'Calligan's New York, 2 vols. 

Roberts's New York, 2 vols.^ 

Barry's Massachusetts, 3 vols. 
§Hutchinson's Massachusetts, 4 vols. 
§Young's Chronicles of the Pilgrims. 



§Bradford's Plymouth (Deane's edition). 

Goodwin's Pilgrim Republic. 

Ellis's The Puritan Age in IMassachusetts. 

Oliver's Puritan Commonwealth (compare 
Thornton's Reply) 

Winsor's Memorial History of Boston, 4 vols. 

Lowell Lectures (1869), The Early History 
of Massachusetts. 

Arnold's Rhode Island, 2 vols. 

Greene's Rhode Island. 

Johnston's Connecticut.^ 

Browne's Maryland. ^ 

McVeagh's Pennsylvania.* 

Williamson's North Carolina, 

Moore's North Carolina, 2 vols. 

Trescott's South Carolina. ^ 

Sanborn's New Hampshire. 

Scott's New Jersey. 1 

Jones's Georgia, 2 vols. 

Vincent's Delaware, 2 vols. 

Goldwin Smith's Lectures on Am. Colonies. 

Weeden's Economic Hist, of N. E., 2 vols. 
(1620-17S9). 

Seeley's Expansion of England (First Part). 

Roosevelt's Winning the West (1769-1776), 
JParkman's Frontenac. 
JParkman's Old Regime in Canada. 
JParkman's Jesuits in North America. 
JParkman's The Discovery of the Great West, 
JParkman's Wolfe and Montcalm, 2 vols. 
JParkman's Conspiracy of Pontiac. 

Johnson's History of the French War. 

Drake's Making of the Great West. 

Hinsdale's The Old Northwest. 

Biography. See Sparks's American Biogra- 
phy for Lives of Nathaniel Bacon, Daniel 
Boone, Lord Baltimore (Calvert), Jona- 
than Edwards, John Eliot, Patrick Plenry, 
Anne Hutchinson, John Ledyard, Cotton 
Mather, Governor Oglethorpe, James Otis, 
Sir W. Phips, William Penn, Count Rum- 
ford (Benj. Thompson), Captain John 
Smith, Roger Williams, Governor Win- 
throp ; Bigelow's Benjamin Franklin, 3 
vols.; Montgomery's Franklin (Ginn&Co.). 

IV. The Revolution and the Con- 
stitution ( 1 763-1 789). 

Frothingham's Rise of the Republic. 
Greene's American Revolution. 
Ludlows's War of Independence. 



§ Early or contemporaneous history. 
* In Scudder's " American Commonwealths " Series. 

t These works all deal, more or less directly, with our relations with the French and the 
Indians in the Colonial Period. 



A LIST OF BOOKS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 



XXXV 



Lossing's Pictorial Field-Book of the Revo- 
lution, 2 vols. 

Fiske's American Revolution. 

Coffin's The Boys of '76. 

Abbot's Blue-Jackets of '76.. 

Abbott's Revolutionary Times. 

Scudder's America One Hundred Years Ago. 

McMaster's People of the United States (Vol. 
I., 17S4-1790). 

Laboulaye, Histoire des Etats-Unis, 3 vols. 

Winsor's Handbook of tlie Revolution. 

J.aiidon's Constitutional Hist, of the U. S. 

Von Hoist's Constitutional History of the 

United States, Vol. I. 
§The Federalist. 

Fiske's Critical Period in American History. 

Story's Constitution of the U. S., 3 vols. 

Moireau, Histoire des Etats-Unis, 2 vols. 

Curtis's History of the Constitution of the 
United States, Vol. I. 

Macy's Civil Government (revised edition, 
Ginn & Co.). 

Wilson's The State. 

Biography. Parker's Historic Americans, 
Bigelovv's Franklin, 3 vols., Hosmer's 
Samuel Adams, ^ Morse's John Adams, ^ 
Greene's General Greene, 2 vols.. Lodge's 
Washington, 2 vols.,i Fiske's Irving's 
Washington and his Country (Ginn & Co.) , 
Sparks's American Biography, Lodge's 
Hamilton,! Gay's Madison,' Roosevelt's 
Gouverneur M orris. ^ 

V. The UiNioN National Develop- 
ment (1789-1S61). 

McMaster's People of tiie United States, 

Vols. II, III. (1790-1812). 
Schooler's United States, 5 vols. (1789-1861). 
Tucker's United States, 4 vols. (1607-1841). 
Adams's United States, 9 vols. (1801-1817). 
H. H. Bancroft's Pacific States, Vols. VIII. 

to XXXII. inclusive. 
Coffin's Building the Nation. 
Johnson's War of 1S12. 
Abbot's Blue- Jackets of 1S12. 
Lossing's Fleld-Book of the War of 1812. 
Rhodes's U. S., 2 vols. (1850-1860). 
Cooper's Naval History. 
Ripley's War with Mexico, 2 vols. 
Jay's Mexican War. 
Bishop's History of American Manufactures, 

2 vols. 



Tuckerman's American Art. 

Nichol's American Literature^ 

Richardson's American Literature, 2 vols. 

Johnston's American Politics. 

Johnston's American Orations, 3 vols. 

Benton's Thirty Years' View, 2 vols. 

Webster's Great Speeches (Whipple's edi- 
tion). 

McCulloch's Half Century. 
§Dwight's Travels in New York and New Eng- 
land, 4 vols. (1796-1821). 
§Lewis and Clark's Expedition, 1804, 2 vols. 
§Breck's Recollections (Scudder). 

For histories of the states, see Scudder's 
American Commonwealth Series. 

Biography. .See in Morse's American States- 
men Series (Houghton & Mifflin), the Lives 
of John Adams, J. Q. Adams, Benton, Cal- 
houn, Clay, Jackson, Jefferson, Madison, 
Monroe, Randolph, Washington, and Web- 
ster; in .Sparks's American Biography, the 
Lives of Fulton and Rumford; Redpath's 
John Brown, Johnson's Garrison, Prime's 
Morse, Rice's Morton, Abbott's Kit Car- 
son, Upham's Fremont, Parton's Famous 
Americans, Mrs. Stowe's Men of Our 
Times, Hunt's American Merchants. 

VL The Period of the Civil War 
(1861-1865). 

Draper's Civil War, 3 vols. 

Greeley's American Conflict, 2 vols. 

The Comte de Paris's Civil War, 4 vols. 

Scribner's Campaigns of the Civil War, 12 vols. 

Abbot's Battle-Fields of '61. 

Abbot's Blue-Jackets of '61. 

Johnson's Short History of the War. 

Coffin's Four Years of Fighting. 

Thayer's Youth's History of the Civil War. 

Dodge's Bird's-Eye View of the Civil War. 

Nichol's Story of the Great March. 

Conyngham's Sherman's March. 

Blaine's Twenty Years of Congress, 2 vols. 

The Century Company's War-Book, 4 vols. 

McPherson's Political History of the Re- 
beUion. 

Swinton's Decisive Battles of the War. 

Pollard's Lost Cause (Confederate). 

Stephens' War between the .States, 2 vols. 
(Confederate). 

Davis's Rise and Fall of the Confederate Gov- 
ernment (Confederate), 2 vols. 



§ Early or contemporaneous history. 

^ In Morse's "American Statesmen " Series. 



XXXVl 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY 



Cooke's Wearing of the Gray (Confederate). 

Johnston's Narrative of the War (Confed- 
erate). 

Biography . Nicolay and Hay's Abraham 
Lincoln, Holland's Lincoln, Herndon's 
Lincoln, 3 vols., Thayer's Lincoln, Car- 
penter's Six Months in the White House, 
McClellan's Own Story, Roman's Beaure- 
gard, 2 vols., Badeau's U. S. Grant, 3 
vols.. Grant's Personal Memoirs, 2 vols., 
Sherman's Memoirs, 2 vols., Sheridan's 
Memoirs, 2 vols., Farragut's Life of Far- 
ragut, Schuckers' I^ife of S. P. Chase, 
Cooke's Robert E. Lee, Cooke's " Stone- 
wall " Jackson, Jo^'huston and Browne's 
Life of Alexander H. Stephens, 

VII. Reconstruction. — The New 
Nation (1865 to the Present 
Time). 

McPherson's Political History of Recon- 
struction. .*- ■" 

Johnston's American Politics. 

Bryce's American Commonwealth, 2 vols. 

Badeau's Grant in Peace. 

Thayer's Garfield. 

McCulloch's Men and Measures of Half a 
Century. 

King's The Great South, 1875. 



Harper's First Century of the Republic. 
The North American Review, Jan., 1876. 
Blaine's Twenty Years of Congress, 2 vols. 
Bancroft's Pacific States, vols, on California, 

Utah, Oregon, Alaska, etc. 
Appleton's Annual Cyclopaedia, 1865-1890. 
Thayer's The New West. 
Ballou's The New Eldorado (Alaska). 
McClure's The South. 

Bruce, The Plantation Negro as a Free- 
man. 
Herbert's Noted Men of the Solid South. 
Fiske's American Political Ideas (The Future 

of America). 
Whitney's United States (Physical Geogra- 
phy and Statistics). 
Stoddart's (New) Encyclopaedia Americana- 
Johnston's United States (reprinted, with 
some additions, from the Encyclopaedia 
Britannica). 
Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biogra- 
phy. 

Note. — Many valuable articles relating to 
the history of the United States during this 
period will be found in The Centu?y, The 
Ailajiii'c, Harper's Magazine, Scrihjiers 
I\Iagazi7ie, The Nation, The North Amer- 
ican Revietv, and The Forn77t. For a gen- 
eral index to reviews and magazines, see 
Poole's Index. 



QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. XXXVll 



QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. 

{These qjcestions cover the principal topics of the history. It is believed that the 
headings of the paragraphs ivill be fo7i7id to answer all the purpose of questions 
for ordinary recitations.) 

*i. When and where was Columbus born ? What was the earth then supposed 
to be ? What countries were then laid down on the maps ? 

2. What was the Atlantic called ? Why ? Who were the Northmen ? 

3. What discoveries did the Northmen make in 850 ? In 1000 ? Is it known 
where Vinland was ? Did the discovery of America by the Northmen have any 
result ? Why not ? 

4. Did Columbus learn anything of America from the Icelanders ? What 
country did Columbus wish to reach ? 

5. What can you say of Marco Polo ? What was the first motive of Columbus ? 

6. What was his second motive ? How was trade with the Indies then carried 
on ? " 

7. What change in trade with India occurred in 1453 ? What did the Portuguese 
attempt to do ? What did Diaz accomplish ? 

8. What was the plan of Columbus ? State his three reasons. 

9. What mistake did he make ? From whom did Columbus seek help ? How 
did the council regard his proposed voyage ? 

10. What help did he finally receive ? When did he sail ? 

11. What route did he take ? How was he equipped for the voyage ? 

12. What conviction did he have ? 

13. What is said of the voyage ? Variation of the needle ? Feeling of the crew ? 
When and why did Columbus change his course ? 

14. When and where did he land ? 

15. What did Columbus believe this land to be ? What did he call the natives ? 
Why? 

16. When did Columbus return to Spain ? What about his letter ? 

17. How did the Pope divide the world ? Was Spain satisfied with the dis- 
coveries of Columbus ? Where and how did he die ? 

18-19. Who discovered the continent of North America ? Where ? When ? 

20-2I. How did America get its name? 

21-23. What was it thought to be ? Who first discovered it to be an independent 
continent ? 

23. What was the great merit of Columbus ? 

24-25. What did Ponce de Leon discover ? Why did he name the land Florida ? 

25-26. When and where did Balboa discover the Pacific? When did Cortez 
land in Mexico ? 

27. What exploration did Cartier make ? What did Cabeza de Vaca discover ? 

28-29. Describe De Soto's expedition. What great river did he discover ? 

30. Where was he buried ? Who were the Huguenots ? Where did they attempt 
to settle ? 

31-32. What did Menendez do ? What is said of St. Augustine ? What of 
De Gourgues ? 

33. What did Frobisher and Davis try to do ? What were the results ? 

34. Describe Gilbert's voyages ; Drake's voyage. What country did he call 
New Albion ? 

35. What expedition did Raleigh send out, and with what result ? 



* The figures refer to pages-. 



XXXVlil LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

35-36. When did he send out his first colony to Virginia ? What new root and 
new weed did the colonists discover ? 

37. What happened to his second colony ? 

38-39. What white settlers did this country have in 1600 ? What was America 
found to be ? How is America superior to Europe ? 

39-46. What can you say about the Indians ? Their appearance ? Mode of 
life ? What was their most ingenious work ? How were they governed ? What 
was wampum used for ? How was the Indian bound by customs ? What was 
the totem ? What was the Indian's religion ? What about his self-control, his 
torturing captives, his respect for courage ? What about the Indian and the White 
Man ? What did the Whites learn from the Indians ? What influence did the 
Indians have on the early history of the country ? 

46-48. What effects did the discovery of America have on Europe in regard to 
geographical knowledge, enterprise, precious metals, commerce, new products, 
sugar, cotton, rice, and coffee? what effect on men's minds ? 

49-51. Describe Gosnold's expedition. Did England need America ? Why ? 
What is said of the London and the Plymouth Companies ? What is a Charter ? 

51-55. When did the first colony sail ? Of what did the colony consist ? Where 
did the colonists settle ? Did they own any land ? Could they vote ? Did they 
own what they raised ?V How did they get on the first summer ? What about 
Pocahontas ? What happened in the summer of 1608 ? What did the colonists 
resolve to do ? Why did they go back ? 

55-56. What did Governor Dale do ? What did he give the settlers ? 

56-57. What effect did the raising of tobacco have ? 

58-60. What met in Jamestown in 1619 ? When did negro slavery begin 
in America ? What about white apprentices ? Who had now settled in the 
North ? When did Virginia become a royal province ? What about Sir William 
Berkeley ? 

61-65. Who were the Puritans ? The Cavaliers ? What famous men in Vir- 
ginia descended from the Cavaliers ? What were the Navigation Laws ? Who 
was Nathaniel Bacon, and what did he do ? 

65-72. Describe Hudson's expedition. Who took possession of the country? 
What did they name it ? What is said of Fort Orange ? What of Peter Minuit ? 
Who were the Patroons ? What can you say of Peter Stuyvesant ? Who claimed 
the country ? What happened in 1664 ? 

72-74. Who first claimed New Jersey ? How did it get the name of New Jersey ? 
What about the Friends, or Quakers ? 

74-76. What about religious liberty in England in 1607 ? Who were the Sepa- 
ratists ? To what country did they first go ? Why did the Separatists or Pilgrims 
come to America in 1620 ? 

77-80. Describe the sailing of the Mayflower. What land did the colonists first 
see ? What did they do there ? Where did they finally land ? How were public 
matters settled and the laws made ? What about Governor Bradford and the 
Indians ? Of what did Plymouth colony finally become part ? 

80-87. Where did Endicott plant a colony ? When did Winthrop come, and 
where did he finally settle ? What is said of the emigrants who came in the next 
ten years ? How was Massachusetts governed ? Who could vote ? What did 
the people do for a living ? Who was Roger Williams ? Why did he leave 
Massachusetts ? What about Mrs. Hutchinson ? How did Williams influence 
the Narragansett Indians ? What is said of public schools, of Harvard College, of 
John Eliot ? 

87-91. What was the object of the New England Confederacy ? What about 
the coming of the Friends, or Quakers ? What did the Puritans do to the Friends ? 
What did the king do ? 

91-93. Describe King Philip's War. What about the Salem witchcraft ? When 
did Massachusetts become a royal province ? What is said of Andros ? What 
of the new Charter ? 

94-96. Where and by whom was New Hampshire first settled ? Why was it so 
named ? What of Exeter ? Of Londonderry ? 



QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. XXXIX 

• 96-101. Describe the first settlements in Connecticut. What about the Pequot 
War ? What about the Connecticut Constitution ? What about the New Haven 
colony? What of the Regicides, of Andros and the Charter? 

102-105. Who were the CathoUc Pilgrims ? Where did they settle ? What 
was the first English Catholic church in America ? Who made the laws of the 
colony ? How about religious freedom ? What is said of the Clayborne and 
Ingle rebellion ? What was done in regard to Catholic worship in Maryland ? 
What happened when Lord Baltimore got his rights again ? What was done 
when the king took possession ? What is said of Mason and Dixon's line ? 

106-109. What did Roger Williams do in 1636 ? Why did he name the place 
Providence? What is said of religious liberty in the colony ? What other settle- 
ments were made in Rhode Island ? What is said of the Charter? 

109-111. Who first settled Delaware ? Where ? What happened to the colony ? 
What was the first state to enter the Union ? 

111-115. How did the name Carolina originate ? Where was the first settlement 
made ? What is said of Charleston ? What about the Huguenots ? What was 
the " Grand Model " ? When was the province divided into North and South 
Carolina ? What is said of rice ? Of indigo ? Of Charleston in 1773 ? 

116-120. Why did Charles II. give William Penn a large tract of land ? What 
did the king name it ? What did Penn intend to do in America ? Where was 
the first settlement made ? What is said of the " Great Law " ? Of the Great 
Treaty ? Of Philadelphia ? 

120-124. Why did General Oglethorpe wish to establish a colony in America ? 
Why was the province named Georgia? Where did the colonists settle? What 
about silk culture ? Did the colonists have much freedom ? When did Georgia 
become a royal province ? 

124-128. Who first explored the West? Describe Joliet and Marquette's ex- 
pedition. What did La Salle do? Who founded Mobile ? Who New Orleans ? 
How much of the country did the English hold ? What had France got posses- 
sion of? What did France mean to do ? What forts did the French build ? 

129-139. When did war with the French begin ? When did it end ? How 
many wars are usually mentioned ? Did the Indians take any part ? What can 
you say of Louisburg? What of the great line of French forts ? What of the 
Ohio Company ? What message did the governor of Virginia send to the 
French ? What results did the journey have ? What is said of the Albany Con- 
vention ? What of Braddock's expedition ? What of William Pitt ? How did 
the name Pittsburgh originate ? What is said of the fall of Quebec ? What did 
the French and Indian War settle ? 

139-148. What was the population of the thirteen colonies in 1763 ? What 
about foreign trade ? Did all the colonies liave the same form of government ? 
How did the farmers live ? What is said of the life in cities and on plantations ? 
What about travel, letters, hospitality, laws ? What of education, of books ? 
What did Edwards write ? What did Franklin ? What about Franklin and 
electricity ? 

149-165. What is said of George III.? How did he interfere with American 
commerce ? What happened in Boston ? Why did the king propose to tax the 
colonists ? Why did they object ? What about the Stamp Act ? W^hat of the 
Declaratory Act ? The Boston Massacre ? The New Taxes ? What about the 
" Boston Tea Party " ? What did Parliament do ? What did Massachusetts do ? 
Describe the British expedition to Lexington and Concord. How did it end ? 
Describe the taking of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Who was appointed 
commander of the Continental Army ? What is said of Bunker Hill and the 
battle ? When and where did Washington take command of the army ? Describe 
the expedition against Quebec. How did Washington drive the British out of 
Boston ? What about Fort Moultrie ? What is said of " Common Sense " ? Did 
the Americans seek to separate from Great Britain? What is said of the Declara- 
tion of Independence ? 

166-176. What did the British hope to do in New York ? What is said of 
Washington ? Describe the battle of Long Island. In what direction did Wash 



Xl LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

ington retreat ? What is said of Fort Washington ? Of Lee ? Describe Wash- 
ington's retreat across New Jersey, The victory of Trenton, What did Robert 
Morris do for Washington ? How did Washington outwit Cornwallis ? What is 
said of Burgoyne's expedition ? Describe the battle of Bennington, Describe 
Howe's expedition to Pennsylvania. What is said of the Saratoga battles ? What 
did France do. What help did Franklin render? 

176-185. What was the condition of Washington's army at Valley Forge ? 
What did England offer in the spring of 1778 ? What is said of the battle of 
Monmouth ? Of Lee ? What did the Britisli do next ? Why ? Spealc of 
Savannah; of Wayne's victory; of Paul Jones. What of Charleston? What 
of Marion and Sumter? What of battle of Camden? Of King's Mountain? 
Spealc of Arnold's treason; and of the winter at Morristown, What is said of 
General Greene ? Of Cowpens ? Of Guilford Court-House ? What did Corn- 
wallis resolve to do ? What is said of Greene's victories in South Carolina ? 
Describe the " Crowning Victory of War." How did the news affect Lord North ? 
Give summary of the Revolution. 

185-190, What of George IH.'s speech ? When was peace made ? What was 
the condition of United States ? How about money ? About trade between the 
states ? What is said of Shays' Rebellion ? What of the Northwest Territory ? 
When and where did the Convention meet to make a new Constitution ? What 
did they accomplish ? What is said of Alexander Hamilton ? What four things 
did the Constitution accomplish ? Give summary of the period. 
' 191-199. What is said of political parties ? Of the election of Washington ? 
Of his inauguration ? Whom did Washington choose for his cabinet ? How did 
the government raise money? What did Hamilton do with a large part of this 
money ? What did the government do in 1790, 1791, and 1792 ? What is said of 
" Citizen " Genet ? What of emigration to the West ? What great invention was 
made in 1793? What came of it? Speak of the Whiskey Rebellion; of Jay's 
Treaty, 

199-201. What is said of France ? Of the " X. Y. Z," Papers ? What were the 
Alien and the Sedition Laws ? What illustrious man died in 1799 ? 

201-209. Of what party was President Jefferson ? Where was he inaugurated ? 
What was thought of the probable extent of the Republic ? Why ? What about 
the war with Tripoli ? What great territory did Jefferson purchase ? What 
advantage did it secure us ? Describe Lewis and Clarke's expedition. What 
about the French and English war ? What was the Embargo Act ? What effect 
did it have ? What was the Non-Intercourse Act ? What results did it have ? 
What is said of Aaron Burr? What about "Fulton's Folly"? What of the 
Savannah ? What did Congress do in 1807 ? What did Jefferson say of slavery ? 

210-219. What is said of Madison's attempt to re-open trade with Great Britain ? 
What of Napoleon ? Speak of Tecumseh's conspiracy; of the Henry letters. 
What caused the War of 18 12 ? Speak of General Hull ; of the Constitution and 
the Guerriere ; of Perry's victory; of Jackson's. What is said of Chippewa and 
of Lundy's Lane ? What of the British capture of Washington ? Describe 
Macdonough's victory. What is said of Fort McHenry ? What of Jackson at 
New Orleans ? What results did the war have ? 

220-229. What is said of Monroe ? What of his journey through the North ? 
What was the Seminole War? What did Spain do with Florida? What great 
question now came up ? What change of feeling had occurred ? How did 
slavery divide the country? How did the North and South feel about the exten- 
sion of slavery ? What was the Missouri Compromise ? What about the National 
Road ? What is the Monroe Doctrine ? Speak of the visit of Lafayette. 

229-234. Describe the building of the Erie Canal and its results. What about 
"' Steam -Wagons " ? What was the first railroad opened in the United States? 
Of what did railroads convince people ? What is said about Drinking Habits and 
the Temperance Cause ? 

234-246. Who was the first President from the West ? What mistake did he 
make ? How would Jackson act now ? What is said of Garrison ? What did 
Channing say ? What happened in Virginia ? What was done at the North ? 



QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. xH 

What about Abolition Societies ? What petitions were sent to Congress? What 
was the result ? Why did the President put an end to the United States Bank ? 
Why did South Carolina resist the duty on imported goods ? What was Nullifi- 
cation ? What debt do we owe Daniel Webster ? What did the President do ? 
Speak of the growth of the country. What about coal ? What of the Express 
System ? What of Chicago ? Who were our first painters ? Our first writers ? 
What appeared in 1833 ? 

247-251. What is said of the panic of 1837 ? What did the government estab- 
lish ? What can you say of the Mormons ? Where did they finally go ? What 
happened in 1840 ? What is said of Emigrants ? 

252-256. What was Harrison called ? How long did he live after he became 
President? What is said about Tyler? What of the Dorr Rebellion, the Ash- 
burton Treaty, the Anti-renters ? What about the Electric Telegraph ? Who dis- 
covered that ether would control pain ? What country did we annex in 1845 ? 

256-265. What is said of Oregon ? What of Dr. Whitman ? How did we 
finally get Oregon ? Why did the Mexican War break out ? What battles can 
you mention ? What countries did we conquer ? What is said of General Scott ? 
What important city did he take ? What was there remarkable about the war ? 
What two results did it have ? What is said of the discovery of gold in California ? 
What results did it have ? 

,^265-269. What is said about slavery ? What were Clay's plans of compromise ? 
What important law was passed, and what were its results ? What can you say of 
" Uncle Tom's Cabin " ? of Sumner and Davis ? 

270-275. What did the " Crystal Palace " exhibition of 1853 prove ? Who 
opened the ports of Japan ? What was the Kansas-Nebraska Act ? What hap- 
pened in Kansas ? How did Kansas enter the Union at last ? 

275-284. What was the Dred Scott case ? What was Judge Taney's decision ? 
How did the North feel about it ? What can you say of the panic of 1857 ? What 
was discovered in Nevada and Colorado ? In Pennsylvania ? How is much of 
the oil sent to market ? What was John Brown's raid, and how did it end ? Who 
was elected President in i860? What did the people of South Carolina think of 
the election ? What did they do ? What did six other Southern States do ? Why 
did the South secede ? What did the Confederacy seize ? What did President 
Buchanan try to do ? What is said of the growth of the United States between 
1789 and 1861 ? What sad difference was there between 1789 and i86i ? What 
had caused the difference ? What must now happen in regard to the Union ? 

285-299. What did President Lincoln say at his inauguration ? What did he 
intend to do ? What is said of Major Anderson ? What next happened ? What 
did the President do when he heard of the surrender of Fort Sumter ? What 
states now seceded ? How many did that make in all ? Name them. To what 
place was the Confederate capital now removed ? What did General Butler do 
with fugitive slaves ? What was the condition of the North with respect to the 
war ? of the South ? Speak of the number and position of the two armies. What 
is said of the battle of Bull Run ? How did " Stonewall " Jackson get his name ? 
What results did the defeat at Bull Run have ? What was the Union plan of the 
war ? What about the Confederate war-vessels ? What of Mason and Slidell ? 
What can you say of the Merrlmac? What of the Monitor? What about the 
war in the West ? What did General Grant write to General Buckner ? What is 
said of the battle of Pittsburg Landing? Of Island No. 10? What was the 
general result of the first year of the war ? 

299-305. Describe the expedition against New Orleans. What was the result ? 
What is said of Port Hudson and Vicksburg ^.What did McClellan do ? What 
was the result of the Peninsular Campaign.^«*^' What about the second battle of Bull 
Run ? Describe Lee's advance. What "happened at Antietam ? What is said of 
the battle of Fredericksburg ? Of Murfreesboro ? What did the President do on 
New Year's Day, 1863 ? What has been the result ? What was the North fighting 
for before the Proclamation ? What afterwards ? 

306-311. What is said of the battle of Chancellorsville ? What of Gettysburg ? 
Who made a famous charge at Gettysburg ? Can you describe it ? What was 



xlii LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 

the result of the battle ? What can you say about Vicksburg ? How did many of 
the people have to live during the siege ? How did the siege end ? On what day ? 
What about Port Hudson ? What had now been done ? ^\Vhat about the draft 
riots ; Morgan's raid ? Where was a severe battle fought September 19-20 ? 
WTiy was General Thomas called " the Rock of Chickamauga " ? Speak of 
Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain. What did Sherman do at Meridian ? 
WTio was now made general-in-chief of the Union armies ? 

311-323. What did Grant and Sherman now decide to do ? Where were the 
battles of the Wilderness fought ? \\'hat is said of them ? Did Grant turn back ? 
WTiat did he do ? Where and by whom was the Alabama taken ? What was 
Elarly's raid ? Describe Sheridan's raid in the Shenandoah \'alley ? What is 
said of the Petersburg mine ? What of Sheridan's ride ? What did Sherman 
do in the West ? What important city did he take ? What is said of Farragut ? 
WTiat did Sherman determine to do ? What did he accomplish ? What is said 
of Thomas ? To how many states had the Confederacy now shrunk ? What 
message did Sherman send to the President ? Where did his men think they were 
going ? Describe Sherman's march northward. What did Sheridan do on the 
west of Richmond ? on the south ? What did Grant then capture ? What did Lee 
do ? What happened the next day ? Describe Lee's surrender. What happened 
at Fort Sumter on April 14, 1865 ? What had the war cost ? What happened at 
Washington on the evening of April 14, 1865 ? What can be said of the North in 
the war ? Of the South ? What did the war establish ? 

324-332. Describe the military review in Washington. What next occurred ? 
What three things did the war settle ? What is said of the President's proclama- 
tion of pardon ? What question now came up ? How did the President and 
Congress disagree ? WTiat was the result ? What did Congress do in the spring 
of 1867 ? What is said of the Fourteenth Amendment ? Wliat of Tennessee ? 
How many states came back ? What about the others ? What is said about the 
negroes? About the "Carpet-Baggers"? After a time what happened? Why 
did Congress impeach the President ? What was the result ? What did the 
President do the next Christmas ? What did Congress do in 1869 ? What is said 
of the Thirteenth Amendment ? Of the Fourteenth ? Of the Fifteenth ? What 
had Professor Morse predicted ? What did Cyrus Field do ? What result has 
the cable had ? What territory did Congress purchase in 1867 ? What can you 
say about it ? What can you say about the payment of the war-debt ? 

332-339. \\Tiat great work was completed shortly after Grant became President ? 
Describe the road, WTaat is said of the railroad and the telegraph ? \\'hat of 
the effect of the Pacific road on commerce with Asia ? On the growth of the far 
West ? WTien was reconstruction completed ? What is said about the " Force 
Bill " ? \\Tiat happened at the West in 1871 ? What at the East in 1872 ? What 
is said of " Boss " Tweed ? Of the " Whiskey Ring" ? What happened in 1873 ? 
WTiat is said of the Centennial Exhibition ? What great change has taken place 
since Washington's day ? What were two of the most remarkable novelties 
exhibited? What is said of electricity? What treaty was made in 1871 ? What 
was one of its results ? WTiat wars shortly after occurred ? 

340-343. What is said of the election of President Hayes ? (See note i.) 
How was the dispute finally settled ? (See note i.) What action did the Presi- 
dent take respecting the South ? Wbat is said of the negro ? WTiat happened in 
1877 ? W^hat great work did Captain Eads accomplish ? W^hat is said about the 
" greenbacks " ? WTiat was done on New Year's Day 1879 ? What w as the result ? 

343-349. WTien was President Garfield assassinated ? What did Congress do ? 
What effect does the Civil Sen-ice Reform have ? \Vhat happened in Louisiana 
in 1882 ? Describe the East River Bridge. WTiat about letter postage ? WTiat is 
said of the New Orleans Exhibition ? WTiat did it prove ? WTiat great change 
has taken place in New Orleans ? WTiat is said of the South before the war and 
since? Wb at about free labor? Cotton? Cotton-seed oil (Note i)? WTiat of 
the Freedmen ? Of education ? 

349-3-5- W'hat is said of President Cleveland ? What did he try to do ? How 
did he succeed ? What was one object of the " Knights of Labor " ? What is 



QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. xHii 

said of the " Black List " ? Of the " Boycott " ? What happened in 1886 ? What 
occurred at Chicago ? What happened at Charleston in 1886 ? What at the 
West in the winter of 1888 ? What can you say about the Statue of Liberty ? 
What four importaitt !a\vs were passed during Cleveland's presidency? 

355-359, Where is Oklahoma ? EXescribe the opening of Oklahoma. W^hat 
event was celebrated in New York in the spring of 1889 ? Describe the Johnstown 
disaster. What is said of the C ngress of the three America ? What new states 
were admitted in November, 1889 ? What two in 1890 ? What is the whole num- 
ber of states in the Union ? How many stars h. our flag now ? What is said of 
our new ships-of-war ? What about woman suffrage (or right to vote) in Wyoming? 
What is said of the growth of the American Republic ? What advantages does 
this country offer ? What do these facts prove ? What question ought each one 
to ask himself? What depends on the answer to this question ? 



:^ 



/3'/ 



r 



/_ 



TOPICAL ANALYSIS. 



xlv 



TOPICAL ANALYSIS FOR SLATE AND BLACKBOARD. 



The figures refer to the numbered paragraphs. 



First Period, — The Discovery and Naming of America. (1000-1521.) 



The Northmen. 



Geographical 
knowledge. 



Columbus. 



The Cabots, 



2. Who were they? 

2. Iceland. 

2. Greenland. 

2. " Leif the Lucky." 

2. Vinland. 

3. Results of the discovery of America by the Northmen. 



I. 
I. 

I. 

3- 

4- 

4- 

4. 

5- 

5- 
6. 

7- 
8. 



10. 
II. 
12. 

13- 
13- 



Ideas about the earth in 1436. 
The " Sea of Darkness." 

Birth of Columbus. 
Visits Iceland. 
What he wished to do, 
Marco Polo's book. 
First motive or object of Columbus. 
His second motive. 

Trade with the Indies. (Venice, Genoa.) 
Portuguese voyages. (Results.) 
Plan of Columbus. (How far right, how far wrong.) 
He seeks assistance. 
He sails. (Vessels; Canary Islands; equipment for 

the voyage.) 
Incidents of the voyage. (Compass, crew, birds.) 
Land! (The /^^.y/ Indies; the Indians.) 
Return. (Letter of Columbus; division of the 

world.) 
Disappointment of Spain. 
Death of Columbus. (What he had accomplished.) 



14. John. 

14. Sebastian. 

14. Henry VII. 's note-book. 

14. England's claim to America. 



f. . . , f 15. Amerigo Vespucci. 

Ongm of the I 15. WTiat happened in 1507. 

name America. 1 ^5- ^^^ Amerigo Vespucci deserve the honor he re- 

! ceived? 



^ 



.\ 



xlvi 



TOPICAL ANALYSIS. 



Discoveries 

concerning 

America. 



' 1 6. What people thought of America. 

1 6. Magellan. 

1 6, How Europe felt about his discovery. 

1 7. Summary of the section. 



Second Period. 

Ponce de Leon. 

Balboa. 

French 
explorations. 

New attempts 
of the 
Spaniards. 

The French 
(Huguenots) 
and the 
Spaniards. 

English explo- 
rations and 
attempts at 
settlement. 



America and 
the Indians. 



Attempts at Exploring and Colonizing America. 
(1513-1602.) 

18. Discovers and names Florida. 

19. Discovers the " South Sea." (Cortez.) 

20. Francis I.; Cartier. 



21. Narvaez; Cabeza de Vaca. 

22. De Soto's expedition. 
(. 

23. Jean Ribaut; Laudonniere. 

24. jSIenendez; St. Augustine. 

25. De Gourgues. (Results of the struggle between the 
■ French and the Spaniards.) 

26. Frobisher; Davis. 

27. Sir Humphrey Gilbert; Drake. 

28. Sir Walter Raleigh's expedition. 

29. Raleigh's first colony. (The new root; the new 
weed.) 

30. Raleigh's second colony. (Croatoan.) 

31. Results of the Spanish, French, and English at- 
tempts up to 1600. 

32. WTiat America was found to be. (Climate, soil, 
crops; healthfulness; superiority to Europe.) 

2$. The Indian population. 

34. Personal appearance of the Indians. (The scalp- 
lock.) 

35. How they lived. (The four chief families or tribes; 
note I.) 

36. Their work. (The moccasin; the snow-shoe; the 
canoe.) 

37. Government of tribes; "wampum." 

38. Social condition; customs; " totems." 

39. ReHgion; character. 

40. Self-control; torture; re€pect for courage. (General 
Stark.) 

41. The Indian and the white man; what the Indian 
taught the white man. 

42. Influence of the Indians on the early history of the 
country. (The Iroquois; the Indian wars.) 



TOPICAL ANALYSIS. 



xlvii 



Effects of the 
discovery of 
America on 
Europe. 



43. (i) Geographical knowledge. 

43. (2) Spain, Portugal, France, and England. 

43. (3) The precious metals. 

43, (4) Trade and navigation. 

43. (5) New products. 

43. (6) Sugar, cotton, rice, coffee. 

43. (7) Effects on men's minds. (Opportunity.) 

44. Summary of the section. (Spaniards, French, Eng- 

lish.) 



Third Period. — Permanent English and French Settlements. 

(1602-1763.) 

45. Opening of the 17th century; Gosnold. 

46. England's need of America; the king grants a char- 
ter to settle Virginia. (Articles of the charter; 
instructions.) 

47. The London Company; Captain John Smith. 

48. Jamestown; condition of the colonists. 

49. Their sufferings; search for the Pacific; Pocahontas. 

50. Gold! The P'rench in Canada; what the colony 
owed Smith; Jamestown abandoned. 

51. Lord Delaware; the new charter; Governor Dale; 
the great reform. (Gift of land.) 

52. Cultivation of tobacco. (Four effects.) 

53. Virginia becomes practically self-governing. (The 
House of Burgesses; wives.) 

54. Negro slaves; white " apprentices." 

54. What settlements were made at the North. 

55. Virginia loses her charter; Governor Berkeley; Puri- 
tans and Cavaliers. 

56. Berkeley restored to power; the Navigation Laws; 
the king gives away Virginia. (Other English 
colonies.) 

57. Condition of the Virginia colonists; the Bacon re- 
bellion. (Results.) 

. 58. Summary of the Virginia colony. 



The English 

and the French 

establish 

permanent 

colonies. 

I. Virginia 

(1607). 



The Dutch 
settle New 
Netherland. 
II. New York 
(1614). 



III. New 
Jersey (1617). 



59. Henry Hudson. 

60. The Indians. 

61. The Dutch take possession of New Netherland; 

English and the French. 

62. Purchase of Manhattan Island. 

63. The Patroons. (Van Rensselaer.) 

64. Peter Stuyvesant; New Amsterdam. 

claim the country; they seize it.) 

65. Summary of New Netherland or New York. 



the 



(The English 



66. Dutch claim; English claim. 

66. English get possession. (Name New Jersey.) 

67. The Friends or Quakers. (Treaty with the Indians; 

government of the colony.) 

68. Summary of New Jersey. 



xlviii 



TOPICAL ANALYSIS. 



IV. Massachu- 
setts (Ply- 
mouth Colony, 
1620). 



69. Religious liberty in England. (Catholics, Puritans, 

Separatists.) 

70. Emigration; the Separatists. 

71. Why the Separatists or Pilgrims resolved to leave 

Holland for America. 

72. Where they intended to settle; how they got as- 

sistance. 

73. The Pilgrims sail; Myles Standish. 

74. Cape Cod; the compact. 

75. Exploring the coast; Plymouth Rock. (The first 

winter.) 

76. Governor Bradford; town-meeting; Indians. 

77. The Pilgrims buy out the English Company. (Growth 

of the colony; what made the Pilgrims great.) 



IV. Massachu- 
setts (Massa- 
chusetts Bay 
Colony, 1630). 



' 78. Salem; Governor Endicott; religious toleration. 
(Love of England and love of America.) 

79. Governor Winthrop; Boston. (Emigration to New 

England.) 

80. Government of Massachusetts; occupations of the 

people. 

81. Banishment of Roger W^illiams; of Mrs. Hutchinson; 

Williams and the Indians. 

82. Public schools; Harvard University; Rev. John 

EHot. 

83. The New England Confederacy; object; results. 

84. The coming of the Friends or Quakers. 

85. Why it excited alarm. (What the Friends refused 

to do.) 

86. Effect of persecution on the Friends. 

87. What Massachusetts did ; what the king did. 

88. King Philip's War. (Eliot's Indians; result of the 

war.) 

89. The Salem witchcraft. 

90. Massachusetts loses her charter; Andros; the new 

charter. 

91. Summary of Plymouth and of Massachusetts Bay 

colonies. 



V. New Hamp- 
shire (1623). 



VI. Connecticut 
(1634)- 



92. 

93- 

94. 



95- 



Grant to Gorges and Mason; first settlements. 

Division of the territory; Exeter. 

Londonderry; union of New Hampshire with Mas- 
sachusetts. (Voting; New Hampshire a royal 
province.) 

Summary of New Hampshire. 



96. Emigration to the valley of the Connecticut; Hook- 

er's colony. 

97. The Pequot War. 

98. The Connecticut constitution. (Of what it was the. 

parent.) 



TOPICAL ANALYSIS. 



xlix 



( Connecticut — ^ 
continued^ 



VII. Maryland 
(1634). 





109. 


VIII. Rhode 
Island (1636). 


no. 


III. 




. 112. 


IX. New 


' 113. 


Sweden, or Del- ' 


114. 


aware (1638). 


. 115- 




■ 116. 




117. 


X., XI. Caro- 


118. 


lina (1663). 1 


119. 




120. 




r 121. 


XII. Pennsyl- 


122. 


vania (1681). 


123. 




124. 




. 125. 




■ 126. 


XIII. Georgia 


127. 
128. 



(1733)- 



99. The New Haven colony; Scripture laws. 
100. The Regicides; Davenport's sermon; Andros and 

the Connecticut charter. 
loi. Summary of Connecticut. 

102. The Catholic Pilgrims; Lord Baltimore; Maryland. 

103. St. Mary's; the wigwam church. 

104. Government of the colony; religious freedom. 

105. Clayborne and Ingle; what the English commis- 

sioners did; how the Assembly or Legislature 
treated Lord Bahimore. 

106. Lord Baltimore restored to his rights; Maryland 

loses her charter. 

107. Establishment of the Church of England; Mary- 

land restored to Lord Baltimore; Mason and 
Dixon's Line. 

108. Summary of Maryland. 

Roger Williams; Providence. 

Liberty of conscience. (The Constitution of the 
United States.) 

Settlement of the island of Rhode Island; the char- 
ter. (Rhode Island and the Revolution.) 

Summary of Rhode Island. 

The Swedes plant a colony; the Dutch. 

The English seize the country. (William Penn; 

the "Territories"; the National Constitution.) 
Summary of Delaware. 

Grant of Carolina; first settlements. 

Charleston; the Huguenots. 

The " Grand Model "; division of the territory into 

North and South Carolina. 
Gsowth of the two colonies; rice; indigo; Charles- 

ton in 1773. 
Summary of Carolina. 

William Penn; Pennsylvania; the " Holy Experi- 

ment." 
The first emigrants; Philadelphia; Penn at New 

castle. 
The " Great Law." 

1 he Great Treaty ; importance of Philadelphia. 
Summary of Pennsylvania. 

Oglethorpe. (His two objects in establishing a 

colony.) 
Georgia; Savannah; silk culture. 
Five restrictions on the colony. (Results.) 
129. The Wesleys; Whitefield; removal of the restric- 
tions; the Spaniards; Georgia in 1752; natural 
resources of Georgia. 
130 Summary of Georgia. 



1 



TOPICAL ANALYSIS. 



The French in 
the West and 
the South 
(1669-1718). 



The wars of the 
English with 
the French and 
the Indians 
(1689-1763). 



General state of 
the country in 

1763- 



131. French exploration of the West; the Jesuit mis- 
sionaries. 

132. Joliet and Marquette on the Mississippi. 

133. La Salle's expedition. (The forts; Louisiana.) 

134. Mobile and New Orleans; what the English colo- 
nists held ; what the French held. 

135. War with the French and Indians ; (i)" King Wil- 
liam's War." (Schenectady, H-averhill, Acadia.) 

135. (2) " Queen Anne's War." (Deerfield, Annapolis, 
Nova Scotia.) 

136. (3) " King George's War "; Louisburg. (Results.) 

137. (4) The "French and Indian War." (Object; the 
French forts.) 

138. The Ohio Company; Governor Dinwiddle's mes- 
senger. 

139. Results of Washington's journey. 
< 140. The Albany Convention; Franklin's snake; Brad- 
dock. 

141. Braddock's defeat; Washington. 

142. Acadian exiles; William Pitt. (Louisburg; Fort 
Duquesne; the French driven back to Canada.) 

143. Fall of Quebec; Pontiac. 

144. What the war settled. (France and the West in 
1759; treaty of 1763; what America was to be- 
come; Spain; the English flag at the end of 1763.) 

145. Four results of the wars between the English an'd 
the French. 

146. The thirteen colonies in 1763. ("Making roots.") 
The population. 

147. Language, religion, social rank; cities; trade. 

148. Government of the colonies; law. (" Don't tread 
on me.") Unity of the people. 

149. Farm life. (The houses; the fires; food; the 
store; recreation.) 

150. City life; the Southern Plantations. (Dress; life 
then and life now.) 

151. Travel; letters; hospitality; severe laws. 

152. Education; books; Edwards; Franklin. (Elec- 
tricity.) 

Summary of the colonial period. 



I 153 



Fourth Period. — The Revolution; the Constitution. 



The Revolution, 
(i . The colonists 
resist taxation 
without repre- 
sentation, 
1764-1775.) 



(i 763-1 789.) 

(What he 



154. American commerce; the new king. 

was and what he did.) 

155. The king proposes to tax the colonies; object of 

tax; protest of the Americans. (Pitt and Burke.) 

156. The Stamp Act. 

157. Resistance of the Colonies to the Act. 

158. Repeal of the Act; the Declaratory Act; the Bos- 

ton Massacre; the Gaspee. 



TOPICAL ANALYSIS. 



li 



{Colonists resist 
taxation — con- 
tinued.) 



The Revolution. 
(2. From the be- 
ginning of the 
war, 1775, to 
the Declaration 
of Independence, 
1776.) 



The Revolution. 
(3. The war of 
Independence, 
from 1776 to 
17770 



The Revolution. 
(4. The war of 
Independence, 
from 1777 to 
1781.) 



159. The new taxes; their ofcject; the "Boston Tea- 

Party." 

160. Parliament closes the port of Boston. (General 

Gage; Patrick Henry; the first Continental Con- 
gress; Massachusetts; the " Minute Men.") 



r 161. 

162. 
163. 

164. 
165. 
166. 
167. 

168. 

f 169. 
170. 

171. 

172. 

173- 

174. 

175- 
176. 

177. 
178. 

179. 
I 180. 

r 181. 

182. 

183. 

184. 
185. 
185. 
186. 
186. 
187. 

188. 
189. 



190. 



Lexington; Concord. (Paul Revere; the siege of 

Boston.) 
Ethan Allen. (Ticonderoga, Crown Point.) 
Washington made Commander-in-Chief; Bunker 

Hill. (Frankhn's letter.) 
Washington takes command; the attack on Canada. 
Washington enters Boston; Fort Moultrie. 
The idea of independence; " Common Sense." 
The Declaration of Independence. (The Liberty 

bell; the King's statue.) The new nation. 
Summary. 



Fort 



WTiat the British hoped to do in New York. 

Washington at New York; Fort Washington; 
Lee. 

The Battle of Long Island. 

Washington retreats northward. (Fort Washington; 
General Lee.) 

Fort Lee; Washington retreats southward. (Gen- 
eral Lee.) 

Trenton. 

Robert Morris. 

Cornwallis outwitted; Princeton; 
Lafayette. (De Kalb, Steuben.) 

Burgoyne's Expedition ; Bennington. 

Howe's Expedition; Biandywine; 
(Valley Forge.) 

Saratoga; " Stars and Stripes; " results of victory. 

Summary. 



Morristown; 

(Stark.) 
Germantown. 



The winter at Valley Forge ; England's offer in 1 778. 

Monmouth; Lee; Indian massacres; Clark's vic- 
tories in the West. 

The war in the South; Savannah; Wayne's vic- 
tory; Paul Jones. 

Charleston; Marion and Sumter. 

Our defeat at Camden, 

Our victory at King's Mountain. 

Arnold's treason. 

The terrible winter at Morristown. 

General Greene; Cowpens; the retreat; Mrs. Steele; 
Guilford Court House; Cornwallis. 

Greene's victories in South Carolina. 

The crowning victory of the war. (Lafayette ; the 
French Fleet; the "World's Upside Down"; 
Lord North.) 

Summary of the Revolution. 



lii 



TOPICAL ANALYSIS. 



After the 

Revolution 

(1782-1787). 



The formation 
and adoption of 
the Constitu- 
tion (1787- 
1789). 



191. George III. 's speech; the treaty; John Adams. 

192. Condition of the United States. (Congress.) 

193. Distress of the country. (Debt, paper money; 

quarrels of the states; no freedom of trade.) 

194. Shays' rebellion. 

195. The Northwest territory. (The ordinance of 1787; 

what the states thought of the territory.) 

196. The convention of 1787; the Constitution. 

196. Alexander Hamilton. (The " Ship of State.") 

197. Wliat four things were accomplished by the Con- 

stitution. 

198. Summary. (What John Adams said.) 



Fifth Period. — The Union; National Development. (1789-1860.) 



I. 

Washington's 
Administration. 
(Two terms, 
1789-1797,) 



II. 

John Adams's 
Administration. 
(One term, 
1797-1801.) 

Ill, 

Jefferson's 
Administration. 
(Two terms, 
1801-1809.) 



C Waskingion. See note 3, page /jj, and the section on the 
Revolution^ 

199. Political parties; election and inauguration of 

Washington. 

200. Washington's Cabinet; how the government ob- 

tained money. 

201. Payment of three great debts. (Hamilton.) 

202. The first census; the U. S. Bank; the Mint. (Deci- 

mal coinage.) 

203. "Citizen " Genet; Washington's proclamation. 

204. Emigration to the West. (Boone.) Marietta, 

Cincinnati. (The first Western newspaper.) 

205. The Cotton Gin and its four results. 

206. The Whiskey rebellion. 

207. Jay's treaty; three new states. 

208. Summary of Washington's presidency. 

(^Sketch ofyohn Adams. See note j, page 799.) 

209. Trouble with France ; the " X. Y. Z. Papers." (Pinck- 

ney; war; " Hail Columbia.") 

210. The Alien and the Sedition Laws; death of Wash- 

ington. 

211. Summary of John Adams's presidency. 

(jfefferson. See note 2, page 201?) 

212. Republican simplicity; the new capital. 

213. Probable extent of the republic. (Means of travel.) 

214. The Pirates of Tripoli; war; results. 

215. Purchase of Louisiana; four results. 

216. Lewis and Clarke. (Oregon.) 

217. The French and English war; the Leopard zxid the 

Chesapeake. 

218. The Embargo; the Non-Intercourse Act. 



TOPICAL ANALYSTS. 



liii 



{.Jefferson's Ad- 
ministration - 
continued.) 



IV. 

Madison's 
Administration. 
(Two terms, 
1809-1817.) 



V. 

Monroe's 
Administration. 
(Two terms, 
1817-1825.) 



VI. 
John Quincy 
Adams's 
Administration. 
(One term, 
1825-1829.) 



219. Aaron Burr. 

220. "Fulton's Folly." (Western steamboats; the Sa- 

vannah.') 

221. Importation of slaves forbidden. (Jefferson and 

slavery.) 

222. (Summary of Jefferson's presidency.) 

' {^Madison. See note i, page 210.') 

223. Trade re-opened with Great Britain. 

224. How Napoleon deceived us. 

225. Tecumseh's conspiracy; Tippecanoe. 

226. The Henry Letters; cause of the war of 1812. 

227. General Hull; Detroit. 

228. The Constitution and the Guerriere. 

229. Perry's victory. (His dispatch.) 

230. General Jackson and the Indians; Tohopeka. 

(Result.) 

231. Chippewa; Lundy's Lane; burning of Washington. 

232. Macdonough's victory; Fort McHenry. (The "Star 

Spangled Banner.") 

233. Jackson at New Orleans; end of the war. (The 

Hartford Convention, note I, p. 219); the treaty 
of peace. 

234. The three chief results of the war of 1812. 

235. Summary of Madison's presidency. 

{^Monroe. See page 220, and note /.) 

236. The President's inauguration. 

237. His journey; the " Era of Good Feeling." 

238. Plrst Seminole War; purchase of Florida. 

239- Question of the western extension of slavery. 
(Jefferson.) 

240. Change of feeling about slavery; the North and 

the South. 

241. How slavery divided the country in regard to trade. 

242. Why the North opposed the western extension of 

slavery; why the South demanded it. 

243. The Missouri Compromise. 

244. 245. Desire to reach the West; the "National 

Road." 

246. The Monroe doctrine. (" America for Ameri- 

cans.") 

247. Visit of Lafayette. 

248. Summary of Monroe's presidency. 



{John Quincy Adams. See note r, page 22g.) 

249-251. The Erie Canal and its results. 

252-255. " Steam-wagons"; railroads and their results. 

256-257. The temperance cause; results. 

258. Summary of J. Q. Adams's presidency. 



liv 



TOPICAL ANALYSIS. 



VII. 

Jackson's 
Administration. 
(Two terms, 
1829-1837.) 



VIII. 

Van Buren's 
Administration. 
(One term, 
1837-1841.) 

IX., X. 

Harrison and 
Tyler's Ad- 
ministrations. 
(One term, 
1841-1845.) 



XI. 

Polk's 

Administration. 
(One term, 
1845-1849.) 



XII., XIII. 

Taylor and 
Fillmore's Ad- 
ministrations. 
(One term, 
1849-1853.) 



{^Jacksmi. See page 234 and note 3.^ 

260, 261. Removal of government officers. (Jefferson's 
rule.) 

262-264. Garrison, Channing; the anti-slavery move- 
ment; J. Q. Adams. 

265. Jackson and the United States Bank. 

266. South Carolina resists the duty on imported goods. 
267-269. Calhoun ; nullification ; Webster ; Jackson's 

course of action; Henry Clay. 

270. Growth of the country; railroads; canals; coal; 

the express system. 

271. Indian wars; the West; Chicago. 

272. American art, books, and newspapers. 

273. Summary of Jackson's presidency. 

( Van Buren. See noie j, page 246.^ 

274. 275. Business failure and panic. (Causes.) 

276. The Independent Treasury and the sub-treasuries. 

277, 278. The Mormons; Nauvoo; Utah. 

279. Emigration to the United States. (Ocean steam- 

ships.) 

280. Summary of Van Buren's presidency. 

(^Harrison and Tyler. See note j, p^i^ 2^1^ '^^d note 4, 
page 2^2.) 

281. Election of Harrison; his death; Tyler, 

282. The Dorr rebellion; Ashburton treaty; Anti- 

renters. 

283. The electric telegraph; Doctor Morton's discovery. 

284. Annexation of Texas. 

285. Summary of Harrison and Tyler's presidencies. 

{Polk. See note 4, page 2j6.) 
286-288. The Oregon question; 

treaty. 
289-292. The Mexican War; Palo Alto; Resaca de la 

Palma; declaration of war; Monterey; Buena 

Vista; California; New Mexico; General Scott; 

Vera Cruz; Cerro Gordo; the City of Mexico; 

results of the war. 
293, 294. Discovery of gold in California; Emigration; 

results. 

295. Summary of Polk's presidency. 

( Taylor and Fillmore. See note 2, page 26^.^ 

296. The question of the further extension of slavery. 

(The North and the South.) 

297. Three methods of settlement proposed; danger of 

disunion; the compromise of 1850; the Fugitive 
Slave Law. 

298. Passage of the Fugitive Slave Law ; its results ; the 

" Underground Railroad "; the " Higher Law." 

299. "Uncle Tom's Cabin"; Charles Sumner and Jef- 

ferson Davis. 

300. Summary of Taylor and Fillmore's presidencies. 



Dr. Whitman; the 



TOPICAL ANALYSIS, 



Iv 



XIV. 

Pierce's 
Administration. 
(One term, 

1853-1857.) 



XV. 

Buchanan's 
Administration. 
(One term, 
1857-1861.) 



(^Pierce. See note i, page syo^ 

301. The World's Fair of 1853; American labor-saving 

machines. 

302. Commodore Perry and Japan. 

303. The Kansas-Nebraska Act. (Stephen A. Douglas.) 
304-306. The struggle for the possession of Kansas; 

rival governments; civil war in Kansas; attack 
on Lawrence; John Brown; assault on Sumner. 

307. Summary of Pierce's presidency. 

(^Buchanan. See note i, page 27^.') 

308, 309. The Dred Scott Case; Chief Justice Taney's 

decision; results. 

310. The business panic of 1857. (Causes.) 

311. Discovery of silver, of petroleum, and of natural 

gas. 

312. John Brown's raid into Virginia. 

313. Election of Abraham Lincoln; secession of South 

Carolina. 

314. Secession of six other states; formation of the 

" Confederate States of America." 

315. Why the South seceded; national property; the 

Star of the West. 

316. General summary from Washington to Buchanan. 

(i, population; 2, territorial growth; 3, cities, 
railroads, and telegraph; 4, disunion: its cause; 
what must be done; what freedom would ac- 
complish.) 



Sixth Period. — The Civil War. (April, 1861, to April, 1865.) 



{^First year of the 
war, 1861-1862.^ 



XVI. 

Lincoln's 
Administration. 
(One term and 
part of second, 
1861-1865.) 

(^Second year of 
the ivar^ 1862- 
1863.) 



(Lincoln. See note 2, page 2yg, and note /, page 28^.") 

317. President Lincoln's arrival at Washington and 

inaugural speech. (Feeling at the North.) 

318. Major Anderson; FortSumter; the Civil War begins. 

319. President Lincoln's call for troops; result. 
Secession of four more states; General Butler's 

" Contrabands." 
Condition of the North and the South. (The three 

advantages of the North; the four of the South.) 
Number and position of the two armies. 
324. Battle of Bull Run; results. 
Union plan of the war. 

The Confederate war-vessels; Mason and Slidell. 
The Merrimac ; the Monitor. ^ 
The war in the West; Fort Henry; Fort Donelson. 
Pittsburg Landing; Island Number Ten, 
Summary of the first year of the war, April, 1861, 

to April, 1862. 
Second year of the war; expedition against New 

Orleans. 
332. Bombardment of the forts; capture of New Orleans. 



320. 
321. 

322. 

323» 

325- 
326. 

327- 
328. 

329. 
330- 

331- 



Ivi 



TOPICAL ANALYSIS. 



(^Lincoln's Ad- 
ministration ■ 
continued.) 



( Third year of 
the war^ i86j- 
1864.) 



(^Fourth year of 
the wary 1864- 
i86s.) 



333. The war in Virginia; McClellan's advance on Rich- 

mond; the Peninsular Campaign. 

334. "Stonewall " Jackson's raid; Stuart; results of the 

Peninsular Campaign. 

335. Second battle of Bull Run; Lee's advance; An- 

tietam. 

336. Battles of Fredericksburg and Murfreesboro'. 

337. Proclamation of Emancipation; results. 

338. Summary of the second year of the war, April, 1862, 

to April, 1863. 

339. Third year of the war; Chancellorsville. 

340. Gettysburg. 

341. Vicksburg and Port Hudson. 

342. Draft riots; Morgan's raid; Chickamauga; siege 

of Chattanooga. 

343. Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain; Me- 

ridian; Grant made general-in-chief. 

344. Summary of the third year of the war, April, 1863, 

to April 1864. 

345. Fourth and last year of the war; planning the 

" Hammering Campaign." 

346. The battles of the Wilderness; Petersburg. 

347. Captain Winslow and the Alabama ; Early's raid. 

348. Sheridan's raid in the Shenandoah Valley. 

349. The Petersburg mine; Sheridan's ride. 

350. The war in the West; Sherman's advance to At- 

lanta. 

351. Sherman takes Atlanta: Farragut enters Mobile 

Bay. 

352. Sherman's march from Atlanta to the sea. 

353. Thomas and Hood. 

354. Sherman at Savannah; his message to the Presi- 

dent; bis advance northward. 

355. The end of the war; what the war cost; murder of 

the President. 

356. The North and the South in the war. 

357. Summary of the fourth and last year of the war, 

April, 1864, to April, 1865. 



Seventh Period. — Reconstruction; the New Nation. (1865 to the 

Present Time.) 



XVII. . 
Johnson's 
Administration. 
(Part of one 
term, 
1865-1869.) 



(JJohnson. See note j^ page 324?) 

358. Task of reconstruction; the grand review; dis- 

banding the armies. 

359. What the war settled. 

360. The President's proclamation of pardon; the Presi- 

dent and Congress. 

361. Congress and the Southern States. 



TOPICAL ANALYSIS. 



Ivii 



[yoknson's Ad- 
ministration — 
continued.) 



362. Six States re-admitted; negro legislators and " Car- 

pet-Baggers," 

363. Congress impeaches the President; the President's 

proclamation of full and unconditional pardon; 
the three amendments to the Constitution. 

364. The Atlantic cable. 

365. Alaska; payment of the national debt. 

366. Summary of Johnson's presidency. 



XVIII. 

Grant's 

Administration. 
(Two terms, 
1869-1877.) 



XIX. 

Hayes's 
Administration. 
(One term, 
1877-1881.) 

XX., XXI. 

Garfield and 
Arthur's Ad- 
ministrations. 
(One term, 
1881-1885.) 



■ ( Grant. See note /, page 2gj, sectioft on the Civil War, 
and note j, page 332.) 
367,368. The Pacific Railroad; what railroads and tele- 
graphs have done for the Union; Effect of the 
Pacific Railroad on commerce with Asia, and on 
the growth of the far West. 

369. Completion of reconstruction; great fires ;" Rings." 

370. The business panic of 1873; the Centennial Exhi- 

bition; the electric light; the telephone. 

371. Treaty with Great Britain; the Alabafna ; Indian 

wars. 

372. Summary of Grant's presidency. 

(^Hayes. See note i, page 340.") 

373. Withdrawal of troops from the South; railroad 

and coal strikes. 

374. Deepening the mouth of the Mississippi. (Results.) 

375. "Greenbacks" and gold; the national debt. 

376. Summary of Hayes's presidency. 

(^Garfield and Arthur. See note i, page 343.") 

377. Assassination of the President ; Civil Service Reform. 

378. Overflow of the Mississippi ; the East River Suspen- 

sion Bridge; cheap postage. 

379. The New Orleans Exhibition; the "New South." 

380. 381. Progress in the South; manufactures; the cot- 

ton crop; the freedmen; education. (Horace 
Greeley.) 
382. Summary of Garfield and Arthur's presidencies. 



I 



XXII. 

Cleveland's 
Administration. 
(One term, 
1885-1889.) 



( Clevetaftd. See fiote /, pa^e 34g. ) 

383. Progress in Civil Service Reform. 

384. The "Knights of Labor"; the " Black List"; the 

"Boycott." 

385. The Year of Strikes; the Chicago Anarchists. 

386. The Charleston earthquake; "Blizzards." 

387. The Statue of Liberty. 

388. Four important laws, (i, Succession to the presi- 

dency; 2, counting the electoral votes; 3, inter- 
state commerce; 4, Chinese immigration.) 

389. Summary of Cleveland's presidency. 



Iviii 



TOPICAL ANALYSIS. 



XXIII. 

Harrison's 
Administration. 
( 1 889-1 893.) 



{Harrison. See note j>, page 355^ 

390. Oklahoma. (Oklahoma City and Guthrie.) 

The Washington Centennial ; the Johnstown disaster. 
The Congress of the three Americas; six new states; 

the new war ships. 
Woman suffrage (or right to vote) in Wvoming. 
General summary, (i, Growth of the Republic; ex- 
tent ; 2, advantages ; 3, what America means ; 4, the 
great question.) 



391 
392 

393. 
394' 



'• 



INDEX. 



Jix 



INDEX 



Abolition societies formed, 238. 
Adams, John 164, 165, 185. 

pres'dency, 199. 
Adams's, J. Q., presidency, 229. 

on right of petition, 239. 
Adams, Samuel, 152, 154, 155, 156 (note 2) ; 

157- 
Alabama, the, built, 294. 

sunk, 313. 

claims settled, 339. 
Alaska purchased, 331. 
Albany (Foit Orange) settled, 66. 
Albany, the, Convention (1754), 135. 
Albion, New, 34. 

Alien, the, and Sedition laws, 200. 
Allen, Ethan, takes Ticonderoga, 159. 
Amendment, the 13th, to the Constitution, 327. 

the 14th, to the Constitution, 328. 

the 15th, to the Constitution, 330. 
Amendments, the constitutional, and the 

negro, 330. 
America discovered by the Northmen, 3. 

discovered by Columbus, 14. 

continent of, discovered by Cabot, 18. 

origin of name, 20, 21. 

white settlers in 1600, 38. 

what it was found to be, 38. 

wherein superior to Europe, 38, 39. 

Gladstone on, 39. 

effects of the discovery of, on Europe, 
46-48. 

■first permanent English and French 
colonies in, 49. 

England's need of, 50. 

thought to be less than two hundred 
miles broad, 53. 

first law-making assembly in, 58. 

Dutch settlements in, 66. 

English settlements in, 52. 

.French settlements in, 54. 

Spanish settlements in, 16, 24, 26, 32. 

Swedish settlements in, 109. 

French explorations in, 124-128. | 



America, Struggle of English and French for, 
129-139. 

Early trade of, 52, 62, 114, 141, 149, 150. 

declares itself independent, 164. 

first flag of, 175 (note 3) ; 178. 

a country of advantages, 359, 

means Opportunity, 359. 

See also United States. 
American Party, the, 270 (note i)a 
Americas, Congress of the Three, 357. 
Amerigo Vespucci, voyages of, 20. 
Anarchists, the Chicago, 351. 
Anderson, Major, at Fort Sumter, 286, 322. 
Andros, Governor, of Massachusetts, 93. 

is seized and imprisoned, 93. 

tries to get possession of the Connecticut 
Charter, 100. 
Anti-Federalists, 191. 
Ami- Renters, 253. 

Anti-Slavery movement, beginning of, 237. 
Apprentices, white, in Virginia, 59. 
Armies, in the Revolution, 167. 

in the Civil War, 290, 291. 

review of, at close of the war, 325. 

disbanding the Union, 325. 
Arnold, expedition against Quebec, 161. 

at Saratoga, 175. 

treason of, 180. 
Art, American, 245. 
Arthur's presidency, 343. 
Ashburton Treaty, 253. 
Astor, John J., 206 (note i). 
Astoria, 206 (note i). 
Atlantic, the " Sea of Darkness," 2. 
Atlantic Telegraph Cable, 330. 
Authors, American, 146, 245, 269. 

Bacon, Nathaniel, rebellion, 63. 

burns Jamestown, 63. 
Balboa discovers the Pacific, 25, ,26. 
Baltimore, Lord, loi, 104, 105. 
Baltimore, city of, founded, 105. 

first railroad in America begun at, 232. 



Ix 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



Baltimore, first blood in Civil War shed at, 288. 
Bank, the U.S., established, 194. 

U.S., Jackson ends the, 239. 
Banks, the " Pet Banks," and worthless banks, 
248. 

National, established, 249 (note i). 
Baptists forbidden to preach in Massachu- 
setts, 85. 
Battle of Antietam, or Sharpsburg, 303. 

Atlanta, 316. 

Ball's Bluff, 294 (note i). 

Bennington, 173. 

Brandywine, 174. 

Buena Vista, 260. 

Bull Run (ist), 292. 
(2d), 303. 

Camden (ist), 179. 
(2d), 182. 

Cerro Gordo, 261. 

Chancellorsville, 306. 

Chapultepec, 262. 

Charleston, 179. 

Chickamauga, 310. 

Chippewa, 216. 

Cold Harbor, 313. 

Concord, 158. 

Constittition and the Guerriere, 213. 

Cowpens, 181. 

Dallas, 316. 

Eutaw Springs, 182. 

Flamborough Head (Paul Jones), 178. 

Fort Donelson, 297. 

Fort Duquesne, 135, 136. 

Fort Henry, 297. 

Fort McAllister, 320. 

Fort McHenry, 218. 

Fort Moultrie, 163. 

Fort Sumter, 287. 

Fort Washington, 168. 

Franklin, 319. 

Fredericksburg, 304. 

Germantown, 174. 

Gettysburg, 306. 

Goldsboro', 320. 

Guilford Court-House, 182. 

Horseshoe Bend, or Tohopeka, 216. 

Island No. 10, 298. 

Kearsarge and the Alabama^ 313. 

Kenesaw Mountain, 316. 

King's Mountain, 180. 

Lake Champlain, 217. 

Lake Erie, 214. 

Lexington, 158. 

Long Island, 167. 

Lookout Mountain, 310, 311. 

Louisburg, 130, 136. 



Battle of Lundy's Lane, 216. 

Mill Spring, 296. 

Missionary Ridge, 310. 

Mobile Bay, 317. 

Molino del Rey, 262. 

Monitor and the Merrtmac, 295. 

Monmouth, 177. 

Monterey, 260. 

Murfrcesboro', 304. 

Nashville, 319. 

New Orleans (1815), 218. 
(1862), 300. 

Palo Alto, 259. 

Peninsular Campaign, 301, 302. 

Petersburg (Mine), 3150 

Petersburg, 321. 

Pittsburg Landing, or Shiloh, 298. 

Port Hudson, 309. 

Princeton, 171. 

Quebec (1759), 137. 
(1775), 162. 

Resaca, 316. 

Resaca de la Palma, 259. 

Saratoga, 174-176. 

Savannah, 178. 

Seven Days round Richmond, 302^ 

Spottsylvania Court-House, 313. 

Stony Point, 178. 

Tippecanoe, 211. 

Tohopeka, 216. 

Trenton, 170. 

Tripoli, 203. 

Vera Cruz, 261. 

Vicksburg, 307. 

Wilderness, 313. 

Winchester, 315, 316. 

Yorktown, 183, 184, 301. 
Beauregard, General, 287. 291, 292. 
Benton, Thomas H., 239. 
Berkeley, Sir William, 60-64. 
Black List, 350. 
Black Hawk, 244. 
Blackstone, William, 83. 
"Blizzards" of 1888, 353. 
Boston, settlement of, 81, 83, 

Writs of Assistance at, 150 ^note 2), 

Stamp Act Riot at, 152, 

" Massacre," 152. 

" Tea Party," 154, 155. 

port of, closed, 155. 

siege of, 159. 

evacuated by the British, 162. 
Boycott, 350. 
Braddock's defeat, 135. 
Bradford, Governor, of Plymouth, 79. 
Bragg, General, 304, 310. 



I 



INDEX. 



Ixi 



British at New York, plans of, i66. 
Brown, John, in Kansas, 273. 

raid of, and execution, 278. 

John Brown Song, 279. 
Buchanan's presidency, 275. 
Buchanan, Captain, 295. 
Burgesses, House of, established, 58. 
Burgoyne, 159. 

expedition, 172, 173. 
Burnside, General, 304. 
Burr, Aaron, 207. 
Butler, General, and the " Contrabands," 289. 

at New Orleans, 300. 

Cabeza de Vaca discovers a mouth of the 

Mississippi, 27. 
Cabinet, the first, 192. 

the present, 354 (note i;. 
Cabot discovers the continent of America, 18. 
Calhoun, 241 (note 2) ; 242. 
California, named by Spaniards, 34 (note 2). 
conquest of, 260. 
gold found in, 263. 
emigration to, 263. 
Canonicus, 79. 

Carolina, North, settled, in, 112. 
South, settled, in, 112. 

trade in rice and indigo, 114, 115. 
cotton first exported from, 346. 
nullification in, 241. 
secession of, 281. 
negro rule in, 328. 
Carpenters' Hall, 156. 
" Carpet-Baggers," 328. 
Cartier's explorations, 27. 
Carver, Governor John, 78. 
Catholics, the, in England, 74, 75. 
emigrate to Maryland, loi. 
establish the first English Catholic Church 

in America, 102. 
grant religious freedom to all Christians, 

102. 
are deprived of their rights, 104. 
regain them at the Revolution, 105. 
Cavaliers, the, in Virginia, 61, 62. 
Census, the first (1790), 193. 

See Population. 
Centennial Exhibition of 1876, 337. 
Chambersburg, burning of, 314, 315. 
Champlain, the French explorer, 54, 65. 
Charleston, South Carolina, 112, 115, 241, 281, 

352. 
Charter, definition of, 24 (note 3). 
Charter Oak, the, 100. 
Charter of the Virginia Companies (1606), 

5o> 5i« 



Chase, Secretary, our debt to, 322. 

Chatham, Lord. See Pitt. 

Chattanooga, siege of, 310. 

Chicago, 245, 336, 351. 

Chinese Immigration, 354. 

Christian Commission, the, 323. 

Civil Service Reform, need of, 237, 

Civil Service Reform Act, 344. 

Civil Service, progress in, 349. 

Civil War, beginning of the, 287. 

Clark's victories in the West, 178. 

Clay, Henry, 225, 243, 267. 

Clayborne and Ingle rebellion, 103, 104, 

Cleveland's presidency, 349. 

Clinton, DeWitt, 249. 

Clinton, General, 159, 177 (note i)* 

Coal comes into use, 243. 

College, Harvard, founded, 86, 87. 

Colonies, Dutch, 66. 

English, 35-37. 49. Si- 
French, 30-32, 54. 

Spanish (St. Augustine), 32, 

Swedish, 109. 

condition of the thirteen in 1763, 139-147 

resistance to English oppression, 149-164 

declare themselves independent, 164. 
Columbus, birth, voyages, and death, 1-18. 
Compromise, definition of, 225 (note 3). 

measures of 1850, 267. 

Missouri, 225. 
Confederacy, New England (1643), 87, 88. 

the Southern, 2S1. 
Confederation, Articles of, 186 (note 188). 
Congress, First Continental, 156: Second, 159. 
Connecticut, first settlement of, 96. 

Constitution of, 97, 98. 

Andros and the charter of, 100. 

extent of, under its charter, 100. 
Constitution, the first in America, 97, 98. 

the "Grand Model," 113. 

of Pennsylvania (the "Great Law"), 117. 

the U. S., formed and adopted, 1S8, 189. 

necessity of the, 188. 

what it accomplished, 190. 

amendments to, 327, 328, 330. 
Constitution and Giierriere, 213. 
" Contrabands " applied to fugitive slaves, 289. 
Cornwallis, General, 162 (note 2); 167, 171, 

179, 181, 183, 184. 
Coronado's expedition, 27, 28. 
Cotton, first exported, 196. 

gin invented, 196, 197. 

exhibition at New Orleans, 346. 

manufacture first established, 346 (note 2). 

effect of war of 18 12 on manufacture of, 219. 

crop of 1890, 348. 



Ixii 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



Cotton-seed oil, 348 (note i). 
Croatoan, 37. 

Crystal Palace (1853), 270. 
Custer, General, killed, 339. 

Dale, Governor, in Virginia, 55, 56. 
Dare, Virginia, birth of, 37. 
Davenport, Rev. John, 99. 
Davis, Jefferson, in Mexican War, 260. 

in Congress, 269. 

elected President of the Confederate 
States, 281. 

capture of, 321 (note i). 
Davis, Captain John, voyages, 33. 
Debt of the Revolution, 193. 

the Civil War, 322 (note i). 
payment of, 331. 
reduction of interest on, 343. 
Declaration of Independence, 164. 
De Gourges's revenge, 32. 
Delaware, Lord, 55. 

settled by the Swedes, 109. 

seized by the Dutch, no. 
English, no. 

granted to William Penn, no. 

first state to enter the Union, no. 
Democrats, 191, 229 (note i); 252 (note 2). 
Dc Soto, expedition, 28-30. 

discovers the Mississippi, 29.- 

is buried in it, 30. 
Detroit, Hull surrenders at, 213. 
Dixie, song of, 314 (note i). 
Dorr Rebellion, the, 253. 
Douglas, Stephen A., 271, 272. 
Drafting at the South, 310. 
Draft riots in New York, 310. 
Drake, voyage of, 34. 

names Pacific coast New Albion, 34. 
Dred Scott case, 275. 
Drinking habits of early times, 233. 
Dutch, the, in New Netherland (New York), 
66, 67. 

seize the Delaware country, no. 

dispossessed of New York by the English, 
72. 

dispossessed of Delaware, no. 

Eads's, Captain, work on the Mississippi, 341. 

Early's raid, 313. 

Earth, ideas of, before Columbus sailed, i. 

countries known before Columbus sailed, i. 
Earthquake, the Charleston, 352. 
Eccentric lathe, the, 255 (note i). 
Education in New England, 86. 

Governor Berkeley on, in Va., 60 (note i) . 

in the colonies, 146, 



Education at the South since the war, 348. 

in America, free, 359. 
Edwards, Rev. Jonathan, 146. 
Election of Hayes disputed, 354 (note i)„ 
Electoral Commission, 340 (note i). 

votes, law for counting, 354. 
Electricity, Franklin's discoveries in, 147. 

present uses of, 147, 338, 339. 
Electric telegraph, the, 254, 330. 
Eliot, Rev. John, 87. 
Emancipation, proclamation of, 304. 
Embargo, the, 206. 
Emigration to the United Stales, 251. 

from China, 354. 

laws concerning, 354 (note 3). 
Endicott, Governor, 80, 81. 
England's need of America, 50. 
England, formerly no religious liberty in^ 74. 
English explorations, early, 18, 32. 

attempts to colonize America, 35-38. 

first permanent colony in America, 52. 
Ericsson's inventions, 255 (note i) ; 296 

(note i). 
" Era of good feeling," 220. 
Erie Canal, 229. 

Ether, Dr. Morton's discovery respecting, 255. 
European trade with the Indies, 6, 7. 
Exhibition, the Centennial (1876), 337. 

the New Orleans, 346. 

Ohio, 356 (note 2). 
Express system established, 244. 

Faneuil Hall, 152, 214. 

Farragut takes New Orleans, 299. 

enters Mobile Bay, 317. 
Federalists, the, 191. 
Fillmore's presidency, 268. 
Fires, the Chicago, forest, and Boston, 336. 
Flag, the first American, 175 (note 3). 

first American, on a war-ship, 178. 

the Confederate, 282 (and note i). 

our present, 357. 
Florida, discovery and naming of, 25. 

Narvaez in, 27. 

De Soto in, 28. 

struggle of French and Spaniards for, 31, 

32. 

purchase of, by the United States, 222. 
Fort Duquesne, 134, 135. 

(Pittsburgh), 136. 

Orange (Albany), 66. 
Forts, line of French, 132. 
France sends expedition to America, 27. 

colonies of, in America, 30, 32, 54. 

struggle of, with England for America, 
129-139. 



INDEX. 



1X111 



France recognizes American Independence, 
175. 176. 

aid from, in the Revolution, 176. 

trouble with, 194, 199, 206, 211. 

war with, 200, 

sells us Louisiana, 204. 

Statue of Liberty given by people of, 353. 

See French. 
Franklin, sketch of life of, 131 (note i). 

writings of, 146. 

electrical experiments of, 147. 

Snake, the (Albany Convention), 135. 

and the Stamp Act, 151. 

letter to Strahan, 161, 162. 

negotiates treaty with France, 176. 

money obtained by, in aid of Revolution, 
176 (note i). 

fits out ships in our defence, 179. 

helps frame the Constitution, 188. 
Freedmen, the, 304, 327, 328, 330, 336. 

progress made by, 348. 
Free Trade (i 846-1 861), 240 (note i). 
Fremont conquers California, 260. 

sketch of life of, 291 (note 3). 
French, the, explore the St. Lawrence, 26. 

the, in Carolina and Florida, 30-32. 

found Quebec, 54. 

explore and take possession of the West, 
124-128. 

found Mobile and New Orleans, 128. 

build forts at Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, 
and Natchez, 132. 

and Indian Wars, 129-139. 

See France, Huguenots. 
Friends, or Quakers, buy New Jersey, 73. 

treaties with the Indians, 73, 118. 

in Massachusetts, 88-90. 

found Pennsylvania, 116. 

See William Penn. 
Frobisher's voyages, 32. 
Fugitive Slave Law, 267. 
Fulton's steamboat, 208. 

Gadsden Purchase, the, 270 (note i). 

Gage, General, in Boston, 153, 155, 157, 160, 

162. 
Garfield's presidency, 343. 
Garrison publishes the Liberator ^ 237. 

mobbed, 237. 
Gaspee, the, destroyed, 153. 
Gates, General, 175, 179. 
Genet " Citizen," 194. 
George III., 149, 150, 153, 163, 164, 185. 
Georgia, settlement of, 120. 
Gilbert, voyage of Sir H., 33. 
Goffe, the regicide, 99 (note 3). 



Gold, supposed finding of. In Virginia, 54. 

discovery of, in California, 263. 

effects of, in 1857, 276. 
Gorges, Sir F., 94. 
Gosnold's expedition, 49. 
Governments, colonial (see Colonies), 83, 
141, 156, 186. 

organization of our present, 188, 191, 192. 

See Constitution and United States. 
"Grand Model," the, 113. 
Grant, General, sketch of life, 297 (note i). 

" unconditional surrender " letter, 297, 
299. 

takes Fort Donelson, 297. 

at Pittsburg Landing, 298. 

takes Vicksburg, 308. 

made general-in-chief, 311. 

and Sherman's " hammering campaign," 

3". 

in battles of the Wilderness, 313. 

sends Sheridan to lay waste the Shenan- 
doah Valley, 314. 

takes Petersburg, 321. 

in Richmond, 321. 

receives Lee's surrender, 321. 

presidency, 332. 
" Greenbacks" become equal to gold, 342. 
Greene, General, in command at the South, 
180. 

campaign in the Carollnas, 181-183. 

Hail Columbia, song of, 200. 

Halleck, General, 296. 

Hamilton and the Constitution, 189. 

first Secretary of the Treasury, 193. 

shot by Burr, 207. 
Hancock, John, 156, 157, 158, 165. 
Harrison, General, at Tippecanoe, 211. 

presidential campaign of, 252. 
Harrison's, Benj., presidency, 355. 
Harrison's, W. H., presidency, 251. 
Harvard, John, 86. 
Harvard University founded, 86. 
Hayes's presidency, 340. 

election of disputed, 354 (note i). 
Henry, Patrick, 156. 
Henry, the, letters, 211. 
Higher Law, the, 268. 
Hoe's press, 255 (note i). 
" Holy Experiment," the, of Penn, 116. 
Hood, General, 316, 319. 
Hooker, General, 304, 306, 310. 
Hooker, Rev. Thomas, 97. 
Howe, General, 159, i6d, 162, 166, 173, 174, 

17s. 176, 177 (note i). 
Hudson, Henry, 65, 66. 



Ixiv 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



Huguenots attempt to settle in America, 30-32. 

settle in Charleston, 112. 

illustrious descendants of the, 113. 
Hull, Captain Isaac, victory of, 213. 
Hull's march to Detroit, 212. 

surrender, 213. 
Hutchinson, Mrs. Anne, 85, 108. 

Immigration, 251, 354. 
Independence, Declaration of, 164. 
Independence Hall, 164, 165. 
Indians, why so named, 15. 
tribes of, 40 (note i). 
mode of life, character, religion, 39-45- 
what they taught the whites, 45. 
influence on our history, 46. 
first taste strong drink, 65. 
Eliot's work among, 87. 
wars with (see Wars), 63, 80, 91, 97, 

129-139, 215, 221, 244, 339. 
treaties with, 67, 73, 118, 216. 
massacres by, in Revolution, 178. 
Indies, trade with, in fifteenth century, 6, 7. 
schemes for reaching the, by sea, 5-9. 
America supposed to be part of the, 15. 
Indigo, culture of, in South Carolina, 114, 115. 
Ingle, Captain, 103. 
Interstate Commerce Act, 354. 
Intolerable Acts, the, 155 (note 2). ^ 

Inventions, American, 195, 197 (note i) ; 208, 
254, 255 (note i) ; 270, 296 (note i) ; 
330. 337> 338 (note 3). 
See Cotton Gin, Eccentric Lathe, Moni- 
tor, Phonograph, Reaper, Revolver, 
Screw Propeller, Sewing Machine, 
Steamboat, Steam Printing Press, 
Telegraph, Telephone. 
Iroquois Indians, 67, 135, 173, 178. 

Jackson, General, at Tohopeka, 215. 

at New Orleans, 218. 

and the Seminoles, 222. 

sketch of life of, 234 (note 2). 

presidency of, 234. 
Jackson, " Stonewall," 293, 302, 3o6« 
Jamestown, settlement of, 52. 

colony of, 52-63. 

burned by Bacon, 63. 
Japan, Perry's treaty with, 271. 
Jay, John, 192, 198. 

Jefferson drafts the Declaration of Tnde- 
pendence, 165. 

first secretary of state, 192. 

sketch of life of, 201 (note 2). 

presidency of, 201. 

purchases Louisiana, 204. 



Johnson, presidency of, 324. 

impeached, but acquitted, 329. 
Johnston, General A. S., 296, 298 (note 1). 

General Joseph E., 291 (note 2); 307 
312, 320, 321 (note i). 
Johnstown disaster, the, 356. 
Joliet and Marquette's expedition, 125. 
Jones, Paul, 178. 

Kansas and Nebraska Act, 271. 

struggle for possession of, 1^72-274. 

John Brown in, 273. 

enters as a free state, 274. 
Kearsarge, the, sinks the Alabama, 313. 
Kentucky, first settlement of, by Boone, 195. 

and Virginia resolutions, 200. 
Know Nothing Party, 270 (note i). 
Knox, General, 162. 

Labor, free and slave, compared, 197, 266, 

_ 305, 348- 

Knights of, 350. 

strikes, 340, 351. 
Lafayette in the Revolution, 172, 175, 183. 

visit of, in 1824, 228. 
La Salle explores the Mississippi, 126. 
Laudonniere's colony, 31. 
Lee, General Charles, in the Revolution, 168, 

_ 170, -^n- 

Lee, Richard Henry, 62, 164. 

Lee, General Robert E., 290, 302, 303^ 306, 

312, 313, 321, 326. 
Leif the Lucky, 3. 
Leopard and the Chesapeake., 206. 
Lewis and Clarke's expedition, 205. 
Liberty, Statue of, 353. 
Lincoln, sketch of early life of, 279 (note 2). 

election of, 279. 

presidency of, 285. 

his inaugural speech, 285. 

calls for 75,000 volunteers, 288. 

emancipates the slaves, 304. 

assassination of, 322. 
Literature, colonial, 146. 

rise of American, 245, 246. 

influence of " Uncle Tom's Cabin," 268. 
London Company, the, 50. 
Louisburg taken, 130, 136. 
Louisiana, origin of the name, 127. 

purchase of, 204. 

explored by Lewis and Clarke, 205. 

great flood in, 344. 

progress since the war, 347. 

Macdonough's victory, 217. 

Machinery, American labor-saving, 270, 338, 



\ 



INDEX. 



h 



XV 



Machinery, changes effected by, 338. 

See Inventions. 
Madison's presidency, 210. 
Magellan's voyage, 22. 
Maine, settlement of, 94. 
Marco Polo's travels and book, 5. 
Marion, General, 113, 179. 
Marquette's explorations, 125. 
Maryland, settled by Catholics, loi. j 

political and religious liberty in, 102, 103. 

Catholics of, deprived of their rights, 104. 
Maryland, my Maryland (song). 
Mason and Dixon's line, 105. 
Mason and Gorges, 94. 
Mason and Slidell, capture of, 294. 
Massachusetts (Plymouth) settled, 74. 

Bay Colony, settlement of, 80. 

Puritan rule in, 83-85. 

education in colony, 86. 
Massasoit, 79, 91. 
Mayjlower, sailing of the, 77. 
McClellan, General, 293, 301-304. 
McCormick reaper, the, 270. 
McDowell, General, 292. 
Meade, General, 306, 307. 
Menendez in Florida, 31, 32. 
Merrimac, destroys the Cuniberla7id and 
the Ctnigress, 295. 

and the Monitor, 295. 
Mexican War, the, 259-262. 

results of, 262. 

See Battles. 
Minister, definition of, 185 (note 3). 
Mint, United States, established, 194. 
Minute Men, the, of Revolution, 157. 
Mississippi explored by the French, 124-128. 

opening of, in the war, 309. 

deepening the mouth of, 341. 

overflow of, 344. 
Missouri Compromise, 225. 

repealed, 271. 
Mobile founded, 128. 

Farragut enters harbor of, 317. 
Money, paper, of Revolution, 170. 

just after the Revolution, 186. 

how obtained in 1789, 193. 

decimal system of coinage, 194. 

in 1832 (note 3), 239. 

in 1837, 248. 

in Civil War, 322, 342. 

of national banks, 249 (.lote i). 
Monitor and Merrimac, 295. 
Monroe, presidency of, 220. 

Doctrine, the, 227. 
Montgomery's expedition against Quebec, 
161. 



Morgan's raid, 310. 
Mormons, rise of the, 249. 

, emigration to Utah, 250. 
Morris, Robert, w^liat he did for Washington; 

170, 183. 
Morristown, Washington's terrible winter at 

180, 
Morse's, Professor, electric telegraph, 254. 
Morton, Dr., discovers that ether will control 

pain, 255. 
Mound Builders, the, 40 (note i). 

Napoleon, 211. 

Narvaez, expedition of, 27. 

National road, 226, 227. 

Natural gas, 278. 

Navigation laws, 62. 

Navy, 166, 179, 200, 203, 206, 213, 295. 

our new, 357. 
Negro slavery, introduction of, 59. 

slaves emancipated, 304. 

See Slavery. 
Negroes become lawmakers, 328. 

the, and the Amendments to the ConstitU' 
tion, 330, 

progress of, since the war, 348. 

See Freedmen and Slavery. 
Neutrality, proclamation of, 194. 
New Albion, 34. 

New Amsterdam (New York) , 67-72. 
New England, origin of name, 66. 

confederacy (1643), 87, 88. 
New Hampshire, settlement of, 94. 
Nev Jersey, settlement of, 72, 74. 
New Mexico, conquest of, 260. 
New Netherland, Dutch settle, 66. 

seized by the English, 72. 
New Orleans founded, 128. 

battle of (1815), 218. 

taken by Farragut, 300. 

exhibition, 346. 

progress since the war, 347. 
Newspaper first published in America, 14c 
(note 6). 

first cheap, 246. 
New York seized and named by English, 72. 

streets, 71, 72. 

in the Revolution, 166. 

East River bridge, 345. 

Statue of Liberty, 353. 
Non-Intercourse Act, 207, 210, 211. 
North Carolina, see Carolina. 
North, Lord, 184. 
Northmen, discovery by the, 2, 3. 
Northwest Territory, the, 187. 
Nullification, 241. 



Ixvi 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



Oglethorpe, General, colonizes Georgia, 120. 

Ohio Company, the, 132. 

Ohio, first settlement of, 195. 

Oklahoma, opening of, 355. 

Oregon, how we got, 205, 206, 256-258. 

Osceola, 244 (note 2). 

Otis, James, 150. 

Pacific named by Magellan, 22. 

Balboa discovers the, 26. 

search for the, by colonistr, 53, 

Railroad completed, 332. 
effects of, 334. 
Paine's " Common Sense," 163. 
Pan-American Congress, 357. 
Panic, business, definition of, 247 (note i). 

of 1837, 247. 

1857, 276, 

1873. 337- 
Patroons, the, 68, 6q_ 253. 
Penn, William, no, 116-119. 
Pennsylvania, grant of, to Penn, 116. 

colony of, 117. 
Perry's victory on Lake Erie, 214. 

Commodore, treaty with Japan, 27T. 
Petroleum discovered in Pennsylvania, 277, 
Philadelphia founded, 116, 117. 

importance of, in early history, 119. 
Philip's, King, war, 91. 
Phonograph, 338 (note 3). 
Pierce, presidency of, 269. 
Pilgrims, the, in England and Holland, 75. 
sail for America, 77. 
settle at Plymouth, 78. 
their colony, 78-80. 
Pitt, William (Lord Chatham), ,36, 152. 
Pittsburgh, origin of name, 136. 

to-day, 137. 
Plymouth Company chartered, 50. 
Plymouth named by Capt. John Smith, 78. 
colony, 78-80, 
Rock, 78. 
Pocahontas, 53. 
Political parties, rise of (1789), 191. 

Whigs vs. Democrats, 229 (note i) ; 252 

(note 2). 
American Party, 270 (note i). 
Republicans, 273, 280 (note 2). 
Polk, presidency of, 256. 
Ponce de Leon and Florida, 24, 
Pontiac's conspiracy, 138. 
Pope, General, 302 (note 4) ; 303. 
Pope, the division of the world by the, 17. 
Popham colony, Maine, 94 (note 7). 
Popular Sovereignty, 266 (note 1). 
Population in 1763, 139. 



Population in 1776, 194 (note i). 

in 1790, 194. 

in 1861, 283. 

in 1890, 359. 
Porter's bombardment of forts below New Or- 
leans, 300. 
Port Hudson, situation of, 301. 

taken, 309. 
Portuguese voyages, 7. 
Postage cheap, 346. 
Powhatan, 53, 54. 
Presidential Succession Act, 354. 
Providence, settlement of, 107. 
Puritans, origin of the, 61. 

religion, ideas of the, 75. 

the, settle Massachusetts, 83. 

their colony; mode of government, 83. 

in Maryland, 103, 104. 
Putnam, General, 160, 167. 

" Quaker Guns," 303 (note i). 
Quakers, see Friends. 
Quebec, the English take, 137. 

Montgomery's expedition against, 161. 

Arnold's expedition against, 161. 

Railroad, the first in America, 232. 

the first across the continent, 332-334. 
Railroads in 1835, 243. 

effects of, 232, 233, 334. 
Raleigh sends an exploring expedition to 
America, 35. 

attempts to colonize, 35-38. 

what he really accomplished, 37, 38. 
" Rally round the flag " (song), 309. 
Reaper, McCormick's, 270. 
Reconstruction begun, 324. 

(Congress and the President), 327. 

completed, 335. 
Regicides, the, 99 (note 3). 
Religious liberty, for all Christians in Mary- 
land, 102. 

for all persons in Rhode Island, 107, 108 

Congress not to interfere with, 108. 

not recognized by the Puritans, 81, 83, 104. 
" none in England, formerly, 74. 
Removals from office, Jackson's, 236. 

See Civil Service Reform. 
Republicans, first party of that name, 191 
(note 4). 

modern party, origin of, 273 (note 2). 

election of Lincoln by the, 280. 
Resumption of specie payment, 342. 
Revere's, Paul, ride, 157. 
Review, grand military,at close of the war,324. 
Revolution, the, 149, 



INDEX. 



1: 



XV 11 



Revolution, causes of the, 150, 156, 163. 

battles of, see Battles. 
Revolver, Colt's, 255 (note i). 
Rhode Island, settlement of, 107. 

entire religious liberty in, 107, 108. 

in the Revolution, 109. 
Ribaut, Jean, 30. 

Rice, cultivation of, in South Carolina, 114. 
Richmond, Va., made the Confederate capi- 
tal, 289. 

capture of, 321. 
Ring, the " Boss" Tweed, 336. 

the Whiskey, 336. 
Rolfe, John, 54, 56. 
Rosecrans, General, 310. 

Salem, Mass., settled, 80. 

witchcraft, 92. 
Sanitary commission, 323. 
Santa Fe, second oldest town in the United 

States, 38. 
Savannah settled, 121. 

taken by the British, 178. 

taken by Sherman, 320. 
Savannah, first ocean steamship, 209. 
Schools, public, established in Massachusetts, 
86. 

Governor Berkeley on, in Va., 60 (note i). 

at the South, 348. 
Schuyler, General, 173. 
Scotch-Irish emigrants, 95. 
Scott, General, 216, 243, 260, 262, 291. 
Screw Propeller, 255 (note i). 
Search, right of, 206, 212, 219, 295. 
Secession of South Carolina, 281. 

of other States, 281, 289. 

reasons for, 282, 284. 

effect of the war on, 326. 
Separatists, the, 75. 
Sewing-machine, the, 255 (note i). 
Shawmut (Boston), 82. 
Shays' rebellion, 186. 

Shenandoah Valley, " Stonewall " Jackson 
in, 302. 

Sheridan's raid in, 314. 
Sherman, General, at Pittsburg Landing, 298. 

raid on Meridian, 311. 

in the " Hammering Campaign," 311. 

advance of, on Atlanta, 316. 

march to the sea, 317. 

at Savannah, 320. 

march northward, 320. 

surrender of Johnston to, 321 (note i). 
Sheridan's raid in the Shenandoah Valley, 314. 

ride, 315. . 

at battle of Winchester, 315. 



Sheridan's raids about Richmond, 321. 
Silk culture attempted in Georgia, 121. 
Silver, discovery of, in Nevada and Colorado, 

277- 

remonetization of, 342 (note 3). 
Slavery introduced into America, 59. 

spreads into all the colonies, sr, 140. 

introduced into Georgia, 123. 

effect of the cotton-gin on, 196, 197. 

Jefferson on, 209. 

law restricting slave'trade, 209. 

discussion of the western extension of, 
222-225, 266. 

change of feeling respecting, 223. 

how it divided the country, 223, 266. 

the Missouri compromise, 225. 

Garrison attacks, 237. 

Channing, Dr., on, 237. 

J. Q. Adams and, 239. 

formation of Abolition societies, 238. 

annexation of Texas, 256. 

forced the North and the South apart, 266. 

the question of, in 1850, 266. 

the Fugitive-Slave Law, 267. 

the " Underground Railroad," 268. 

" Uncle Tom's Cabin," 268. * 

Kansas-Nebraska Act, 271. 

struggle in Kansas over, 272. 

Dred Scott decision, 275. 

John Brown's raid, 278. 

Lincoln on, 285. 

the corner-stone of the Southern Confed- 
eracy, 282 (note 3). 

the country divided by, in 1861, 284. 

the enemy of the Union, 284. 

Butler, General, and the " contrabands," 
289. 

the Emancipation Proclamation, 304. 

the Constitutional Amendments, 305, 330. 

compared with free labor, 266, 305, 326, 

348. 

progress of the South since the abolition 
of, 347, 348. 
Smith, Captain John, 52, 54, 66, 78. 
Songs of the Civil War, 279, 303, 309, 314, 318. 
South Carolina, see Carolina. 
South, the, secedes, 281. 

forms a Confederacy, 281. 

fires on Fort Sumter, 287. 

how prepared for war, 290. 

sufferings of, in the war, 323. 

during reconstruction, 328. 

withdrawal of troops from, 340. 

the solid, 340. 

the New, and its progress, 347, 348. 
Spaniards, the, in Florida, 31, 32. 



Ixviii 



LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 



" Spoils System," the, 236. 

Stamp Act, the, 151, 152. 

Standish, Myles, Captain, 77, 80. 

Stark, General, 44, 173. 

'• Star of the West " fired on, 282. 

"Star Spangled Banner," the (song oQ, 218 

(note i). 
State rights, doctrine of, 200, 201 , 241 , 243, 282. 
States admitted in 1889, 357; in 1890, 358, 

whole number of, now, 357. 
Statue of Liberty, 353. 
Steamboat, Fulton's, 208. 
Steam Printing Press, 255 (note i). 
Steamboats, influence of, in the West, 209. 
Steamship, the first ocean, 209. 
Steamship, first line established, 251. 
Steam-wagons (locomotives), 231. 
Steuben, Baron, 172. 
Strikes, great, 340, 351. 
Stuyvesant, Governor, 69-72. 
Suffrage restiicted in colonial times, 83. 
Suffrage, Woman, 35S and Note i. 
Sumner, Charles, 269, 274. 
Sumter, Fort, 286, 322. 
Suspension Bridge, East River, 345. 

Tariff, sketch of the, 240 (note i). 

revenue (1789), 193. 

first protective, 240 (note i)» 

and nullification, 241. 
Taylor, presidency of, 265. 
Taxation of the colonies by England, 150, 153. 
Tecumseh's conspiracy, 211. 
Temperance cause, 233, 234. 
Telegraph, electric, 254, 255, 334. 

Atlantic cable, 330. 
Telephone, the, 338. 
Texas, annexation of, 255. 

and the Mexican War, 259. 
Thomas, General, 296, 310, 319. 
Ticonderoga, Ethan Allen takes, 159. 
Tobacco in Virginia, 56, 57, 62. 
Tories of the Revolution, 162. 
Town meeting, government by, 79, 83. 
Treasury, independent, established, 248. 
Treaty of England and France (1763), 138. 

with France (1778), 176. 

of peace, 1783, 185. 

with England (1795), 198. 

of Ghent (1814), 219. 

Ashburton (1842), 253. 

Oregon (1846), 258. 

with Mexico ("1848), 262. 

with Japan (1854), 271. 

Washington (1871), 339. 
Trent affair, the, 294. 



Tri-mountain (Boston), 82, 83. 
Tripoli, war with, 203. 
Tyler, presidency of, 252. 

♦' Uncle Tom's Cabin," 268. 
" Underground Railroad," 268. 
Union, the, how formed, i83. 

vs. " State Rights," 200, 241-243, 282, 326. 

what Daniel Webster did for the, 242. 

Jackson's determination to maintain, 243. 

how threatened by slavery, 266, 284. 

the war for, inevitable, 284. 

what the Civil War decided respecting 
the, 326. 
United States independence declared, 165. 

acknowledged by France, 175, 176. 

acknowledged by Great Britain, 185. 

condition of, at close of Revolution, 185, 
186. 

Constitution of, framed, 188-190. 

government of, organized, 192. 

Revolutionary debt paid, 193. 

first census, 193. 

first tariff, 193. 

Bank, 194, 239. 

Mint, 194. 

expectation of extent of, in 1801, 202. 

condition of, in 1861, 283, 284. 

territory added to, 204, 255, 258, 262; 
270 (note i), 331. 

roads, canals, railroads, etc., in, 209, 226, 
230, 232, 243, 255, 284, 333. 

emigration to, 251, 354. 

National banks established, 249 (note i). 

payment of Civil War debt, 331. 

treaties of, see Treaties. 

wars of, see Wars. 

growth of, 283, 359. 

population, see Population. 

present condition of, 359. 
University, Harvard, founded, 86. 

Yale, 86 (note 4). 
Utah, Mormons, in 250. 

Valley Forge, Washington at, 176, 
Van Buren's Presidency, 246. 
Van Rensselaer estates, 69, 253. 
Vermont, 95 (note i). 
Verrazano's expedition, 27 (note i). 
Vespucci, Amerigo, voyages of, 20. 
Vicksburg, situation of, 301. 

siege and capture of, 307. 
Vinland, 3. 
Virginia, Raleigh sends expedition to, 35. 

attempts to colonize, 35-37., 

charter of company, 50. 



INDEX. 



Ixix 



Virginia, settlement of, at Ja .lestown, 52. 

tobacco, cultivation of, 56. 

House of Burgesses established, 58. 

slavery introduced into, 59. 

Cavaliers in, 61. 

Navigation Laws hurt trade of, 62. 

Bacon's rebellion in, 63. 

R. H. L-ee of, moves Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, 164. 
Virginia Dare, birth of, 37. 
Vote right to, restricted in colonial times, 83. 

War, the Pequot (1637), 97. 

King Philip's (1675), 91. 

French and Indian, 129-139. 
, " King William's " (1689), 129. 

"Queen Anne's" (1702), 130. 

" King George's " (1744), 130. 

" French and Indian " (1754), 131. 

Revolutionary, the (1775), 157-185. 

with France (1793), 200. 

with Tripoli (1801), 203. 

•with Tecumseh (1811), 211. 

with England (1812), 212-219. 

with the Creeks (1814), 215. 

First Seminole (1818), 221. 

Black Hawk (1832), 244. 

Second Seminole (1835), 244 (note 2). 

Mexican (1846), 259-263. 

the Civil (1861) , 285-323. 

cost of the Civil, 322. 

loss of life in the Civil, 322. 

results of the Civil, 326. 

Modoc (1872), 339. 

Sioux (1876), 339. 

See Battles. 
Warren, General Joseph, 161. 
Washington, sketch of early life of, 133 
(note 3). 

sent a messenger to the French, 133. 

his interest in the West, 134. 

accompanies Braddock, 135, 136. 

helps take Fort Duquesne, 136. 

made commander-in-chief, 159. 

takes command of army, 161. 

enters Boston, 162. 

at New York, 166. 

saves Putnam and his army, 167. 

retreats northward, 168. 

retreats across the Delaware, 168, 169. 

victory at Trenton, 170. 

victory at Princeton, 171. 

worries Howe, 174. 

at Brandywine, 174. 

at Germantown, 174. 

and Franklin, 176. 

at Valley Forge, 174, 176. 



Washington at Monmouth, 177. 

and Benedict Arnold, 180. 

winters at Morristown, 180. 

at Yorktown, 183, 184. 

and the Constitutional Convention, 188. 

presidency of, 191. 

cabinet of, 192. 

death of, 201. 

centennial of inauguration of, 356. 
Washington the national capital in 1801, 202. 

taken by the British, 216. 
Wayne, " Mad Anthony," 178. 
Webster, Daniel, early life of, 95 (note 4). 

and Calhoun, 242. 

our debt to, 242. 

and the Ashburton treaty, 253. 

and the Fugitive-Slave Law, 267* 
Webster, Noah, dictionary of, 245. 
Wesley, John and Charles, 123. 
West, Washington's interest in the, 134. 

the, emigration to, 195, 226, 227, 335, 356. 

growth of the, 244, 333. 

the, to-day, 335. 
Whigs of the Revolution, 162. 

rise of the, 191. 

victory of, in 1840, 252. 

See Political Parties. 
Whiskey rebellion (1794), 197. 

ring, 336. 
White " Apprentices " in Virginia, 59. 

Apron Brigade, the, 63. 
Whitefield in Georgia, 123. 
Whitman, Dr., and Oregon, 257. 
Whitney invents the cotton-gin, 196. 
William and Mary College, 220 (note 2). 
Wilmot Proviso, 262 (note 5). 
Williams, Roger, driven from Massachusetts, 

85. 

saves Massachusetts from an Indian War, 
86. 

settles Providence, 107. 

establishes entire religious liberty, 107-8. 

secures a liberal charter for R. I., 108. 
Winslow, Captain, 347. 
Winthrop, Governor, 82. 
Witchcraft in Salem, 92. 
Wolfe takes Quebec. 137, 138. 
Woman sufrrage,358 and Note i. 
Worden, Captain, 296. 
World's Fair (1853), 270. 
Writs of Assistance, 150 (note 2). 

X. Y. Z. Papers, the, 199. 

Yeardley, Governor, 57. 

York, the Duke of, seizes New Netherland, 72. 

seizes Delaware, no. 
Yorktown, capture of, 183, ^34. 



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